
Book , o ^'^ 



PRESENTED BY 



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'.miisprEnm wNWRMLmR 



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[L©yag f^APOLEO 



THE 



PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



OF 



NAPOLEON THE THIED, 

EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH; 



WITH 



§i0papfptEl ^0tites 



OF HIS 

MOST DISTINGUISHED MINISTERS, GENERALS, RELATIVES, 
AND FAYORITES, 

AND 

VARIOUS DETAILS DESCRIPTIVE OF PRANCE UNDER 
THE SECOND EMPIRE. 



SAMUEL Mf SMUCKER, A.M., 

AUTHOR OF " COTJKT AND REIGN OF CATHERINE U ;" " HISTORT OF NICHOLAS I. OF RUSSIA ;** 

"life of ALEXANDER HAMILTON;" "LIFE OP THOMAS JEFFERSON;" " MEMO- 

EABLE SCENES IN FRENCH mSTORY ;" " LIFE OF DR. E. K. KANE," ETC. 



-<•>- 



G. G. E YA NS, 

439 CHESTNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA. 
1858. 






«5 



Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1858, Ijy 
SAMUEL M. SMUCKER, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District 

of Pennsylvania. 



gXEBEOITFKD BY J. FAGAII. 

^Ift from 
Mrs. Etta F. Winter 
Sept. 20 1932 



PEEEACE. 



Every age produces its master-spirits; and it is 
absurd at this late day to deny that Louis Napoleon 
occupies that position in reference to the present cen- 
tury. It is equally evident that he has already fulfilled 
his mission; or that he has at least achieved the 
greater part of the brilliant or the tragical destiny 
which may have been allotted him. He has revived 
the defunct empire of the great Corsican ; he has in- 
herited his colossal power ; and he now sits upon that 
perilous throne which was formerly purchased by the 
blood and tears of a continent. There is henceforth 
little more of consequence which Louis Kapoleon can 
accomplish. He may indeed live in the enjoyment 
of his imperial state for some time to come; but 
beside this, the brief record of his future history will 
very probably comprise but one thing more : that he 
will either be dethroned, or be assassinated, or will 
die in his bed with all his blushing honors thick 
upon him. 

In preparing the following work for the press the 
author has exhausted all the reliable materials which 
were accessible. These include everything that is 
valuable, which the literatures of France and England 
contain in reference to the subject. Several biogra- 



X PREFACE. 

phies of the Emperor of tlie French have already 
appeared in this country ; yet none of them are com- 
plete even as far as they go ; none bring the narrative 
of events down to the present time ; all of them speak 
of the subject of their narratives with the exagge- 
rated ardor and unfair coloring of partisans ; and they 
have been indiscriminate either in their censure or 
their praise. The present writer has endeavored to 
avoid these errors ; he is not conscious of yielding to 
the least degree of prejudice in either direction ; and 
he has aimed at elaborating such a history of the 
public and private career of Louis l^apoleon in all its 
stages, as will describe it precisely as it occurred. 
The reader himself will judge how far the author has 
been successful in achieving a correct historical por- 
trait of the most extraordinary man, beyond all com- 
parison, who has flourished during the middle epoch 
of the nineteenth century. 

The biography of ISTapoleon m. does not occupy 
the whole of the present volume. It had been easy 
by the use of larger type to have filled all the allotted 
space with that portion of the work alone ; but the 
writer has endeavored to render it more valuable by 
the addition of other interesting and useful matter 
which illustrates the history of the French Emperor. 
These articles form Part Second of the work. 

SAMUEL M. SMUCKER. 

Philadelphia, July, 1858. 



Contents. 



CHAPTER I. 

FA6B 

Splendor of the Napoleonic Dynasty — Relative Importance of 
Louis Napoleon in that Dynasty — His Birth — His supposed 
Illegitimacy — His Infancy — Interest felt by Napoleon I. in 
his fate — The Fall of the Emperor — Heroism of Hortense — 
Her Departure from Paris with her Sons — Her Residence at 
Malmaison — Death of Josephine — Boyhood of Louis Napo- 
leon — His early Education — Napoleon's return from Elba — 
Waterloo — Capitulation of Paris — Plight of Hortense and 
her Sons — Her Residence at Aix — Her Husband demands 
their eldest Son — Her Residence at Constance — *' Partanf 
vour la Syrie" — College Studies of Louis Napoleon — Hor- 
tense purchases the Estate of Arenemberg — Her occasional 
Residence at Rome — Progress of Louis Napoleon in Mili- 
tary Studies — The Revolution of July, 1830 , 21 



CHAPTER II. 

Outbreak of the Revolution in Italy — Secret Conclave of the 
Bonapartes in Rome — Louis Napoleon commanded to with- 
draw from the Papal Capital — He joins the Revolutionists — 
Death of his elder Brother at Faenza — His own Sickness — 
His Arrival at Paris with his Mother — Their reception by 
Louis Philippe — Compelled to retire to England — Their 
removal to Arenemberg in Switzerland — The Polish Revo- 

(xi) 



Xll CONTENTS. 

lutioTi — Death of the Duke of Reichstadt — Louis Napoleon 
complimented by the Polish Refugees — His private studies 
at Arenemberg — Publishes his Reveries FoUtiques — Nature 
and Contents of this Work — He publishes his " Consideror 
tions Politiques et Militaires sur la Suisse" — Character of 
this Work — Compliments of the Helvetic Diet — Louis Na- 
poleon invited to marry the Queen of Portugal — His reasons 
for refusing to do so 39 

CHAPTER III. 

Pursuits and studies of Louis Napoleon at Arenemberg — His 
Manual of Artillery — Character of that vrork — He begins to 
plot — The Escapade of Strasburg — State of public feeling in 
France at that period — Unpopularity of Louis Philippe — 
Preparations for the plot at Arenemberg — The Hunting 
Party — The Prince arrives at Baden-Baden — He meets 
Madame Gordon — Her Beauty and Talents — Her former 
History — She becomes a Devotee to the Prince — His arrival 
at Strasburg — Meeting of the Conspirators — Suspicions 
aroused and allayed — Six o'clock arrives — Colonel Vaudrey 
— Submission of the Fourth Regiment — General Voirol — 
The Prince's Identity denied — Total and rapid Failure of 
the Conspiracy — Arrest of the Conspirators — Examination 
and Responses of Louis Napoleon 53 

CHAPTER IV. 

Presence of mind and Intrepidity of Madame Gordon — Her 
Trial and Acquittal — Her subsequent Fate — The Gratitude 
of Louis Napoleon — His removal to Paris — Intercessions of 
Queen Hortense in his behalf — The Prince Banished — His 
voyage to Rio Janeiro — His arrival at New York — His con- 
duct in the United States — Letter from Hortense — His Re- 
turn to Switzerland — Death of Hortense — Brochure of M, 
Persigny — Republished by M. Laity — Letter of Louis Napo- 
leon to Laity — Louis Philippe demands his Expulsion from 
Switzerland — The Cantons Refuse — War threatened — 
Voluntary withdrawal of the Prince — He goes to England 



CONTENTS. Xiii 

— Pablishes his " Idees Nhpoleonieunes" — Gore House — The 
Countess of Blessington — Lord Eglinton — The Prince's 
habits of Dissipation in London — His connection with Mrs. 
Howard — Her History and Career 65 



CHAPTER y. 

Louis Napoleon in England — The Insurrection of Barbes — 
False Opinions as to the State of Feelings in France — The 
Affair of Boulogne — Want of Organization and Preparation 
in France — Louis Napoleon and his Friends embark on the 
" City of Edinburgh" — Their arrival on the Coast of France 
— They Disembark — Proclamation to the Soldiers — Attempt 
to corrupt the Garrison of Boulogne — Partial Success — Subse- 
quent Failure — Arrest of Louis Napoleon and his Associates 
— Colonel Puyg-illier — Trial of the Conspirators — Evidence 
against them — Eloquence of Counsel — Berryer — Ferdinand 
Barrot — Conviction of the Prisoners — Their Sentence — 
Louis Napoleon condemned to Imprisonment for Life — The 
Fortress of Ham — Prevalent Opinions in reference to the 
Affair of Boulogne — Its peculiar Error — Its advantageous 
Results on the subsequent Fate of Louis Napoleon 80 

CHAPTER VI. 

Origin and History of the Fortress of Ham — Its situation and 
appearance — Louis Napoleon conveyed thither — His Rigor- 
ous treatment — His Protest to the French Government — 
Removal of Napoleon's Remains from St. Helena — Louis 
Napoleon writes and publishes his " Historical Fragments" 
— His "Considerations sur la Question des Sucres" — His 
"Extinction of Pauperism" — His '* Canal Napoleon de Nica- 
ragua" — The Prince desires to visit his Dying Father — 
The Request Refused — He determines to Escape from Ham 
— The Astuteness and Ability of the Plan adopted — The 
Prince's Costume — He leaves his Prison and evades the 
Scrutiny of the Guards — Adroitness of Th61in — The Prince 
reaches Valenciennes, Brussels, Ostend, England — The skil- 
ful proceedings of Dr. Conneau — The Astonishment and 
2 



XIV CONTENTS 



Terror of the Coraraandant — The Prince refused Passports 

to Florence by the Tuscan Minister , 92 



CHAPTER VII. 

Interview of the Prince with Count d'Orsay — Lady Douglass — 
Death of the ex-King of Holland — The ''Melanges Politiques" 
— History of the Downfall of Louis Philippe — State of Poli- 
tics in France — The Monster Banquets — -Popular Tumults — • 
M. Molle — The new Ministry of Thiers — Delusion of the 
King — His Flight from Paris — Establishment of the Pro- 
visional Government — Letters of Louis Napoleon to the 
Provisional Government — His Return to London — He is 
elected a Representative by Four Departments — His Letters 
to the Electors and to the Assembly — He sends in his Resig- 
nation as Representative to the Assembly — Popular Tumults 
— Cavaignac appointed Dictat-or — Louis Napoleon re-elected 
Representative by Five Departments — His appearance in 
the Assembly — His Speech — Decree of Banishment against 
the Bonapartes annulled , . 108 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The new Constitution — Candidates for the Presidency — 
Cavaignac — Ledru RoUin — The Immortal " Name" — Ac- 
tivity of the Partisans of Louis Napoleon — Manifestoes of 
the Candidates — Results of tlie Election — Inauguration of 
President Louis Napoleon — Difficulties of his Position — De- 
fects of the New Constitution — The Cabinet of the President 
— Activity and violence of the Red Republican Clubs — 
Fouchet's Bill for their Suppression — Ledru Rollin pro- 
poses the Impeachment of the Ministers — The President's 
Intrepidity — Conspiracy against him throughout France — 
Opposition to him in the Assembly — Revolution in the 
Ecclesiastical States — Roman Republic proclaimed — Maz- 
zini and Garibaldi — Defeat of General Oudinot — The new 
Legislative Assembly — Louis Napoleon's Message to the 
Assembly — Downfall of the Roman Republic 123 



CONTENTS. XV 



CHAPTER IX. 



Louis Napoleon in the Workshops of Paris — Incidents and 
Escapes — His Tour through the Provinces — Committee of 
Permanence — Decree permitting the Return of the Bour- 
bons — The President's Letter to Colonel Ney — Duel between 
Thiers and Bixio — Victor Hugo's Hostility to the President 
— New Ministers appointed — Sudden growth of Socialism — 
Election of Representatives — The Law of Universal Suffrage 
— Increasing Hostility of the Assembly to the President — In- 
crease of the President's Salary — His second Tour through 
the Provinces — Hostility of Changarnier to the President — 
The Reviews at Satory — Conspiracy to Arrest the President 
— The False Message — The Revision of the Constitution dis- 
cussed — The President's Speech at Dijon — Universal Suf- 
frage again discussed — New Cabinet of the President — State 
of France — Approach of the Decisive Moment for Action . . 137 



CHAPTER X. 

The Coup d'Etai — Ball at the Elys^e Palace — Louis Napoleon 
in his Cabinet — Printing of the Proclamations — Their Distri- 
bution throughout the Capital — Simultaneous Arrest of the 
chief Enemies of the President — The Soldiers take posses- 
sion of the Hall of the Assembly — Fragments of the Assem- 
bly convene elsewhere — Events of Wednesday — Prepara- 
tions for Thursday — Appearance of Paris on Thursday — 
The Military — The Barricades — Massacres in the Streets — 
Rout of the Insurgents — Defeat of the Red Republicans — 
Number of Killed and Wounded — Louis Napoleon's Pro- 
clamation — The General Election — The President's Active 
Measures — The Results of the Ballots — Louis Napoleon 
President for Ten Years — Te Deum — The President removes 
to the Tuilleries — His subsequent Proceedings — General 
Changarnier — Cavaignac — Lamoriciere — General LeflO — 
General Bedeau — La Grange — M. Grippo — Colonel Charras — 
M. Roger (du Nord) — M. Baze — M. Thiers— The consterna- 



XVI CONTENTS 



tion of the Historian of the Revolution, The Consulate and 
the Empire 152 



CHAPTER XI. 

Progress of Louis Napoleon's Ambition — The Empire — Popu- 
lar Acts of Government — The new Constitution — The Preva- 
lence of Alarm — Growth of Socialism — The President's 
Journey through the Provinces — The Infernal Machine at 
Marseilles — Decree against the Property of the Orleans 
Family — Excuses for that Decree — The Restoration of the 
Empire — Return of the Votes — Reign of Terror — Proposals 
for the Marriage of the Emperor — Their Refusal — The 
Parisian Belle — Qualities of the Countess de Teba — She is 
sele<3ted by Louis Napoleon as his Empress — His Address to 
the Senate — The Imperial Nuptials — Imposing Ceremonies 
on the Occasion — National Rejoicings and Congratulations 
— The Emperor's Address to the Senate — Prospects of the 
Empire 9 172 



CHAPTER XII. 

Origin of the "War in the Crimea — Insulting Letter of Nicholas 
I. to the French Emperor — Early History of the Crimea — 
The Empress Catherine II. — She subjugates the Crimea — 
Origin of Sevastopol — Nicholas I. resolves on the Conquest 
of Turkey — The Holy Places in Palestine — Communications 
between Nicholas and the British Government — The War — 
The Peace- — The Treaty of Paris — Provisions of the Treaty 
— Louis Napoleon the real Hero of the War — The English 
Press and its Adulation of him — A Contrast — Visit of Louis 
Napoleon to Queen Victoria — Extract from the London 
Times — Addresses by Corporations — Attempt to Assassinate 
Louis Napoleon in Paris — Visit of Queen Victoria to Louis 
Napoleon — The Exhibition of the World's Industry — The 
French Press on the English Alliance — Birth of the Prince 
of Algeria — Frantic Joy of the Nation — Addresses of Con- 
gratulation — The Emperor's Reply to the Senate — His Pious 
Response to the Corps Legislatif—Ahd-el-Ka,dGT — Barbes. . . 185 



CONTENTS. xvii 



CHAPTER XIII. 



The Relations of Louis Napoleon to Marshal St. Arnaud — 
The Army of the Allies — St. Arnaud and the Coup d'Etat 
— He takes no part in the Revolution of February — Leading 
Qualities of St. Arnaud — His peculiar Afflictions — His Suc- 
cesses — The Slanders which those Successes elicited — The 
Mental Tortures which they Inflicted on him — His only 
Remedy — St. Arnaud and the Priest — He is appointed Com- 
mander of the Army of the East — Suffers under a dreadful 
fatal Disease — Proceedings at Varna — Embarkation for the 
Crimea — Battle of the Alma — Heroism of the Zouaves — 
Exertions of St. Arnaud — The Victory — He sleeps on the 
Battle-field — His Farewell to the Army — Resigns the Com- 
mand to General Canrobert — His Death 204 



CHAPTER XIV. 

General Canrobert — His peculiar Genius — His remarkable 
Activity and Vigilance — His personal Appearance — His 
Birth and Youth — His Exploits in Algiers — His Conduct in 
the Crimea — He succeeds St. Arnaud to the Chief Command 
— Lord Radcliffe — Difficulties of Canrobert's Position — He 
Resigns the Chief Command — He is the victim of Diplomacy 
— His Mission to Sweden — A Greek Myth — The Future of 
Canrobert and Pelissier 216 



CHAPTER XV. 

The great Rival of Louis Napoleon — Marshal Bugeaud's esti- 
mate of Cavaignac — A better Estimate of him — His conduct 
as Dictator of France — Cavaignac's Birth and early History 
— He makes the Campaign of the Morea — Policy of Louis 
Philippe — Cavaignac is sent to Algiers — His Bravery and 
Ability there— The Revolution of 1848 in France— The Pro- 
visional Government appoint him Governor-General of Al- 
giers — He declines the Office of Minister of War — Resent- 
2* 



XVIU CONTENTS. 

ment of the Provisional Government — He accepts the post 
of Minister of War from the Republic — The Downfall of the 
Executive Commission — Cavaignac appointed Dictator of 
France — His Cabinet — Results of his Measures — Louis 
Napoleon elected President — Subsequent insignificance of 
Cavaignac — He is arrested at the Coup d'Etat — Conduct of 
Mademoiselle Odier — Correspondence betvyeen Cavaignac 
and De Morny — Cavaignac's release from Prison — His mar- 
riage to Mdlle. Odier — His subsequent Obscurity — His 
Death 223 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Louis Napoleon's Reputation for Gallantry — Was always re- 
garded in England as a bad matrimonial match — He is 
rejected by Miss Belleu — He afterward Rejects Jier — The 
Princess Mathilde — Louis Napoleon's Intrigue with Mdlle. 
Lautre — His connection with the Countess de Castiglione — 
Despair of the Empress — The Opera of Joconde — The Count 
De Morny — The Prince Walewski — Influence of Louis 
Napoleon's reign on French Society — The contrast between 
its Influence and that of Charles X. and Louis Philippe • . . . 234 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The visit of Napoleon III. and Eugenie to England in 1855 — 
The Journey of Queen Victoria to Paris — The Inundations 
in France in 1856 — Louis Napoleon's great Administrative 
Talent — The pacific Splendors of the Empire — Visit of the 
Grand Duke Constantine of Russia to Paris — - Review of 

' Troops in the Capital in 1857 — The magnificent Coup d' CEil 
— Louis Napoleon's Etat Major — Private Amusements of the 
French Court — Pol'itical Apathy in France — Causes of 
that Apathy — The " Council of Regency" — The Elections 
throughout France in June, 1857 — Attempted Assassina- 
tions 241 



CONTENTS. XIX 



PAKT SECOIlTD. 

NAPOLEONIC MISCELLANY. 

No. I. 

Louis Napoleon's Views of the English Eevolution ; from his 
" Historical Fragments" 251 

No. II. 

Louis Napoleon's Letter respecting his Father, to the Minister 
of the Interior 256 

No. III. 
Letter to Louis Napoleon respecting the Nicaragua Canal.. . . 256 

No. IV. 
Letter of Odillon Barrot to the Prince Napoleon 259 

No. V. 
Louis Napoleon's Letter to M. Vieillard 260 

No. VI. 
Letter of Louis Napoleon to the National Assembly 262 

No. VII. 
Curious Scene in the National Assembly 262 

No. VIII. 
Speech of Louis Napoleon in the National Assembly. 265 

No. IX. 
First Inaugural Address of President Napoleon 268 

No. X. 
Letter of Louis Napoleon to his Cousin 269 



XX CONTENTS. 

No. XI. 

Proclamation of Louis Napoleon, the President of the Repub- 
lic of the French People 270 

No. XII. 

Annual Message of President Napoleon to the Assembly, 
November, 1850 271 

No. XIII. 
Famous Speech of President Napoleon at Dijon 273 

No. XIV. 
Second Annual Message of President Napoleon 275 

No. XV. 
Memoir of Louis Bonaparte, ex-King of Holland 279 

No. XVI. 
Memoir of Hortense Beauharnois, ex-Queen of Holland 296 

No. XVII. 
Kivals of Napoleon III. to the Throne of France 383 



PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



OF 



NAPOLEON THE THIRD. 



CHAPTER I. 

Splendor of the Napoleonic Dynasty — Relative Importance of Louis 
Napoleon in that Dynasty — His Birth — His supposed Illegitimacy — 
His Infancy — Interest felt by Napoleon I. in his fate — The Fall of 
the Emperor — Heroism of Hortense — Her Departure from Paris 
with her Sons — Her Residence at Malmaison — Death of Josephine — 
Boyhood of Louis Napoleon — His early Education — Napoleon's 
return from Elba — Waterloo — Capitulation of Paris — Flight of Hor- 
tense and her Sons — Her Residence at Aix — Her Husband demands 

• their eldest Son — Her Residence at Constance — '■'■ Partant pour la 
Syrie^^ — College Studies of Louis Napoleon — Hortense purchases the 
estate of Arenemberg — Her occasional Residence at Rome — Pro- 
gress of Louis Napoleon in Military Studies — The Revolution of 
July, 1830. 

The career of the great J^apoleonic dynasty is without a 
parallel either in ancient or modern times. The universal 
judgment of mankind has long since decided, that its founder, 
Napoleon I., was in every respect as great a hero, and pro- 
bably a greater, than Alexander, CaBsar, or Charlemagne, the 
three most renowned representatives of ambitious and martial 
daring in the world's history. It has been conceded that the 
variety and extent of Napoleon's abilities, both as a com- 
mander, a legislator, and a ruler, place him above all his 
rivals. It is also granted that the splendor of his victories, 
the extent of his conquests, and the grandeur of his elevation, 

exceeded theirs in an eminent degree. 

(21) 



22 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

But in addition to all these elements of superior greatness, 
it must be admitted that the family of Napoleon I. add an 
unequal attraction and halo to his career. Neither of his 
illustrious rivals could boast of a wife as graceful and be- 
witching as Josephine, or as high-born and nobly descended 
as Maria Louisa. None of them possessed a sister who, like 
Pauline, deserved the distinction of being called the most 
beautiful and fascinating woman of her time. None could 
point to a Caroline who combined beauty, intrepidity, and 
talent, in so pre-eminent a measure. None of them could 
claim brothers as sagacious as Joseph, as gallant as Murat, 
as romantic as Jerome, as capable as Lucien. None of these 
rival conquerors could point to as many relatives who were 
sovereign princes and princesses, and who owed their dizzy 
eminence to his own powerful arm. And none of them had a 
successor equal in talent, and in desperate, successful daring, 
to Napoleon III. It must be admitted, also, that the present 
Emperor of the French is the second personage in point of 
consequence, celebrity, and interest, among all that illustrious 
company who bear the name and share the glory of the Bona- 
partes ; and that his career possesses an importance and splendor, 
inferior only to that of the great head of the family himself. 

Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was born at Paris 
on the 20th of April, 1808. He was the third and only sur- 
viving son of Louis Napoleon, the King of Holland, and Hor- 
tense, the daughter of the Empress Josephine, by her first hus- 
band, the Yiscount de Beauharnois. The infant prince first saw 
the light at one o'clock, and the Chancellor of the Empire 
immediately wrote to the Emperor, the Empress, and to 
Louis Napoleon, informing them of the happy event. At 
five o'clock in the evening the act of birth was received by 
the Arch-Chancellor, assisted by his eminence, Regnault de 
St. Jean d'Angely, the minister of state, and secretary of the 
imperial family. Salvos of artillery announced the happy 
event along the whole line of the grande armee, through- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 23 

out the entire extent of the empire, from Hamburg to Genoa, 
from the Danube to the Atlantic. This was an honor which 
fell to the lot of only two members of the imperial family, 
Louis Napoleon, and the King of Rome ; for they only were 
born under the imperial regime. 

Notwithstanding these and other testimonials of the legiti- 
macy of Louis Napoleon, it has been gravely asserted by au- 
thorities of no mean importance, that not a drop of Bona- 
parte blood flows in his veins ; and that he is, in reality, the 
son of the favorite lover of Hortense, Admiral Yerhuel, a 
Dutch nobleman connected with the court of her husband, 
while king of Holland. It is well known that the marriage 
between Louis Bonaparte and Hortense was a compulsory 
one, brought about by the tears and persuasions of Josephine. 
Napoleon's Minister of Police, the celebrated Fouche, boldly 
asserts in his Memoirs, that Hortense was then already preg- 
nant by the Emperor ; that the latter first determined to 
marry her immediately to Duroc ; that Duroc positively re- 
fused, being engaged to another lady whom he loved ; and 
that then Louis was absolutely commanded to accede to a 
union with the daughter of Josephine. Subsequent events 
seemed indeed to give the color of truth to these assertions. 
From the day of that union, the young couple never pretended 
to entertain the least affection for each other. From January 
the 20th, 1802, the date of the marriage, down till September, 
180*7, the period of their separation, they never resided toge- 
ther more than four months, and that at very remote inter- 
vals. Some months after their final separation, and after 
Hortense had taken up her permanent residence in Paris, 
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was born. The strongest proof 
which supports the assertion of the illegitimacy of his birth, 
is his own peculiarly apathetic Dutch temperament ; a tem- 
perament such as no other Frenchman ever possessed since 
the national existence began. To this may be added the 
total want of any resemblance in his features to the Napoleon 
family, and their very considerable similarity to those of the 
courtly and accomplished Dutch Admiral already referred to. 



24 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

The family of Hortense and Louis Bonaparte consisted of 
the eldest son, called JS'apoleon Louis Charles, born in 1802, 
who died in 1807 ; the second son named Napoleon Louis, 
who was born in 1804, was baptized by Pope Pius YIL, and 
who died in 1831 ; and the subject of this history. The 
family register of the Bonapartes which contained the evi- 
dence of the right of the succession, had been deposited in 
the keeping of the Senate. By the Plebiscite of the year 
1804, the children of the brothers of Napoleon L, in the ab- 
sence of his own direct heirs, were entitled to the succession 
to the throne in the order of their ages. Accordingly, at 
the period of his birth, Louis Napoleon was regarded as the 
second heir of the empire, and considerable interest clustered 
around his person from his earliest years, as one who might 
perhaps be reserved by the mysterious vicissitudes of fate, for 
a brilliant or at least a checkered destiny. He was baptized 
in 1810 by Cardinal Fesch, with great splendor, at Fontain- 
bleau, the Emperor and Maria Louisa themselves acting as 
sponsors. 

His earliest years were spent in his mother's private resi- 
dence in the Rue Cerutti, now Lafitte, in Paris. She was 
his first preceptor ; and she was well fitted for the task. Hor- 
tense was a woman of great intelligence, refinement and taste. 
Herself educated by the accomplished Madame Campan, she 
possessed a well-cultivated mind. She had, when quite a girl, 
distinguished herself in the celebrated school d'Ecouen, by 
her superior talents for music and drawing. She was learned, 
witty, and exceedingly attractive in her manners. In a word, 
she was worthy to be the daughter of Josephine. She reared 
her two sons with great strictness ; and the severity of the 
training to which she subjected them, was intended both to 
enlarge and cultivate their minds, as well as to strengthen 
and develop their bodies.^ 

* Hortense was, in all respects, a remarkable woman ; beautiful in 
person, in organization peculiarly delicate, feeble in health, flexible iu 
her principles ; yet, when a resolution had once been adopted, she dis- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 25 

Kapoleon himself took a deep interest in the progress of 
the boys. He frequently sent for them, while he was break- 
fasting hastily in his cabinet, in order to converse with them, 
to ascertain their progress in learning, and to scrutinize the 
displays or evidences which they might give of intelligence 
and talent. Not even the subsequent birth of the king of 
Rome seemed to diminish the intense interest which Napoleon 
felt in the children of Hortense. His sagacious mind well 
appreciated the uncertainties of human life, and the possibility 
of the death of his direct heir. There is ample evidence to 
prove, that both in prosperity and misfortune, until the end 
of his marvellous career at St. Helena, the great conqueror 
regarded the fate of the two sons of Hortense with solicitude, 
and watched their career with a vigilant eye. 

Louis Napoleon continued to reside in Paris with his mother 
till 1814. During the interval between this period and the 
separation of his parents, his father had led a retired life at 
Gratz, in Germany. When the first great disasters of Napo- 

played so much tenacity of purpose as to expose her justly to the charge 
of obstinacy. In courage, whether active or passive, she was uncon- 
querable. To the unfortunate, she was kind and generous; she was 
alfectionate in her friendships ; and, towards her children, tender, gentle, 
and full of solicitude. But her ruling passion was attachment to Napo- 
leon I., which, in times of great difficulty and danger, overmastered 
even her maternal feelings, and led her for his sake to set the whole 
world and her own interests at defiance. 

Hortense possessed the most beautiful and luxuriant hair, of a light 
shining blonde, tinged with an ashen hue, which imparted to it an ex- 
traordinary appearance. It was nearly long enough to reach the ground, 
and when she sat upon a chair to have it dressed, she suffered it to fall 
over her whole figure like a veil, and trail on all sides upon the floor. 
Even at such times her two little sons were always present, and often 
used to amuse themselves by hiding in turn under their mother's hair, 
and bolting out suddenly to produce a laugh. When she was dressed 
they generally went down with her to the carriage-door, one of the 
little fellows carrjnng her gloves and shawl, the other performing the 
duties of a page, and bearing her ample train. — Life of Louis Napo- 
leon, by J. A. St. John, p. 8. 
3 



26 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

leon occurred after the Russian expedition, when the mighty 
Colossus who had so long overawed the world lay prostrate 
on the earth, the former king of Holland hastened to Paris. 
When the allied armies drew their vast lines closely around 
the French capital, Hortense was undismayed by the dangers 
which surrounded the imperial family, and remained. She 
actively employed herself in procuring relief for the thousands 
of wounded French soldiers who crowded the hospitals of 
Paris. She praised the fortitude of her husband in remaining 
near the Emperor. No perils nor threats could appal her ; 
and she displayed pre-eminently on this occasion the leading 
attribute of her character, which was the secret of all her 
domestic difl&culties and troubles — her unconquerable ob- 
stinacy. When she beheld Maria Louisa desert with 
cowardice and pusillanimity the capital of her husband's 
Empire, thus betraying his dearest inte-rests in the moment of 
his greatest peril, she gave way to excusable paroxysms of 
rage, and exclaimed to the Empress, ''I am incensed at 
the weakness which I see. You intend to destroy France and 
the Emperor. You must be aware that by quitting Paris you 
neutralize its defence and lose your crown. You make the 
sacrifice with great resignation !" "You are right," replied 
the pliant Austrian princess; "but it is not my fault. The 
council have thus decided." Hortense being asked what she 
intended to do, answered : " I shall remain at Paris, and will 
share with the Parisians all their fortunes, be they good or 
bad." "I wish," said she, energetically, "that I were the 
mother of the King of Rome ; I would inspire all around me 
with the energy I could exhibit." Speaking to Regnault, 
the Colonel of the National Guard, she said : " Unfortunately 
I cannot fill the place of the Empress ; but I do not doubt 
that the Emperor is executing manoeuvres which will soon 
conduct him hither. Paris must hold out ; and if the National 
Guard is willing to defend it, tell them that I pledge myself 
to remain here with my sons." 

Such was the heroism and determination of the mother of 



OF NAPOLEON III. 27 

the present Emperor of France, and such the noble example 
which she gave to him, and to the world, of devotion to the 
interests of her illustrious benefactor. 

After all was lost, Hortense was directed by her husband 
to send him their children in order to convey them to a place 
of safety, as they might be taken by the enemy as hostages. 
She accordingly left Paris only two days before the entry of 
the allies. She commenced her sad journey at nine o^clock at 
night, taking the road to Glatigny. When she reached Ram- 
bouillet, she received an order from her husband to repair with 
her children to Blois. She considered this requisition as an 
insult, and exclaimed, with her usual determination and obsti- 
nacy, which had long before induced her brother Eugene to 
call her his Dear Stubborn — "I was going to Blois, but since 
I am ordered to go, I will not go." She crossed the forest 
of Rambouillet, even at the risk of being captured by the 
Russians, and reached Navarre, whither her mother Josephine 
had taken refuge.^ 

At this retreat Hortense was undetermined what to do. 

1 The following anecdote is told in reference to Prince Louis and the 
celebrated Madame de Stael : On one occasion, having dazzled and 
bewildered every one else, she turned to the children of Hortense, 
resolved apparently to extort admiration even from them. But children 
form a world by themselves, and require to be subdued by very different 
arts from those which succeed with grown-up people. She overwhelmed 
the young princes with questions ; she investigated, she made long 
speeches, and she at length inspired them with intense ennui. " Do you 
love your uncle ?" she inquired. " Very much." " Do you think you 
shall be as fond of war as he is ?" " Yes, I should be, if it did not 
cause so much evil." "Is it true that your uncle often used to make 
you repeat the fable which begins with these wards — 'The reason of 
the most powerful is always the best V " " Madame, he often used to 
make me repeat fables, but not that one oftener than any other." The 
younger Napoleon, who had a judgment beyond his age, replied to her 
with great calmness and circumspection, and when the dialogue was 
over came to Madame Boubers, saying, " That lady is a great question- 
monger; I wonder, now, if that is what people call genius?" — See 
Life of Louis Napoleon, by J. A. St. John, p. 50. 



28 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Once she thought of retiring to Martinique and residing upon 
the family estate which her mother still possessed in that 
island. This project however was soon given up. After the 
allies entered Paris, her elegant hotel was occupied by Swedish 
officers ; but having soon received assurances from the Em- 
peror Alexander that she and her mother should be protected, 
and their interests provided for, she returned to the capital 
with her sons, and there awaited the final issue of events. It 
w^as stipulated by Napoleon in the act of abdication at Fon- 
tainbleau, that Hortense should receive a permanent yearly 
revenue of four hundred thousand francs, and that she should 
retain possession of her sons. Through the influence of the 
Russian monarch, her estate of St. Leu was erected into a 
duchy, of which she took the title and the dignities. 

The government of Louis XYIIL, however, did not treat 
the fallen queen with the same generosity. A portion of the 
forest of St. Leu was restored by him to its ancient proprie- 
tor, the Prince de Conde ; the sum of six hundred thousand 
francs, which had been deposited by Napoleon in the hands 
of the Receiver-General of Blois, to the credit of herself and 
Josephine, was given to the Duke d'Angouleme ; and the in- 
scription on the national treasury of a million and a half of 
francs, which Napoleon had guaranteed to Hortense, was 
repealed. 

After the departure of Napoleon to Elba, Hortense resided 
with her two sons chiefly at Malmaison with her mother. 
Here the family were frequently visited by the illustrious 
strangers who were then in Paris, and especially by the Em- 
peror Alexander. It is said that on one occasion, Alexander, 
Josephine, Prince Eugene, and Hortense, with her two sons, 
visited together the works of Marly, in the vicinity of Mal- 
maison ; that Alexander's dress was on the point of being 
caught in the machinery, in consequence of his too near 
approach, and that his life was saved by the sudden move- 
ment of Hortense. This act of sincere devotion completely 



OF NAPOLEON III. 29 

/ 

won the heart of Alexander, who from that moment became 
much attached to her. 

Greater misfortunes now overwhelmed Hortense and her 
children than had ever before fallen to their lot. On the 29th 
of May, 1814, her amiable and illustrious mother Josephine 
expired in her arms. Regretted as this noble woman was by 
every one with whom she had ever come in contact, none felt 
the blow so profoundly and acutely as Hortense. Of Josephine 
alone, of all human beings, could it with truth have been 
said, as indeed it was frequently asserted, that " she never 
caused the shedding of a single tear." The grief of Hortense 
was agonizing beyond description ; and the baseness of the 
government of Louis XYIII. added a still sharper pang to 
those which already distracted her bosom. Josephine was 
scarcely laid in her grave when M. Blacas, on the part of the 
king, demanded the pictures which were at Malmaison as the 
property of the State ; and other indignities were subsequently 
offered her. 

Notwithstanding these reverses, the characteristic generosity 
of Hortense still marked her conduct in settling the estate of 
Josephine with Eugene. She reserved to herself the payment 
of twenty thousand francs in salaries, and gave away a hun- 
dred thousand francs in presents to the needy and faithful 
dependants of the fallen dynasty. In consequence of the 
reduction of her pecuniary resources from various causes, she 
now curtailed her style of living ; relinquished all the useless 
expenditures of the days of her splendor ; and dismissed her 
attendants, except three women and the tutor of her sons. 

At this memorable and exciting period Louis Napoleon 
was five years old. He was even then remarkable for the 
taciturnity of his disposition. Though he spoke very little, 
he seemed to be reflective and intelligent. His progress in his 
studies was moderate ; neither deficient nor remarkable. His 
mother had taught him to regard the Emperor Alexander as 
a friend. Accordingly on one occasion when that monarch 
was present, Louis Napoleon quietly approached him, and 
3* 



so PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

placed in his hand a little ring which his uncle Eagene had 
given him. When his mother inquired what he had done, he 
answered : " I have nothing but the ring which uncle Eugene 
gave me, to give-, and I wanted to give it to the Emperor 
because he is so good to you." Alexander embraced the 
child, and retained his present. 

The nurse chosen by Hortense for her son, was a lady 
named Madam Bure. This person was a handsome and pretty 
brunette, small in stature, but possessing remarkably fine, ex- 
pressive black eyes. On one occasion, when attending young 
Louis at the Tuilleries, she attracted the attention of the 
Emperor Napoleon, and elicited his rather significant com- 
pliments. At length he fixed his eyes upon Madam Bure so 
rudely as to cause her to blush. Napoleon, seeing her con- 
fusion, turned away, exclaiming : "That young rogue has a 
very charming nurse !" Madam Bure was much attached to 
the family and person of Hortense ; she continued in her 
suite during the lifetime of the ex-queen, and resided with 
her till her death at Arenemberg. 

The chief solace of Hortense at this period was, the pos- 
sion and education of her sons. She was threatened even 
with the loss of these ; for her husband, having retired to 
Italy, now demanded them from her. She refused to resign 
them ; and a lawsuit was commenced to recover possession of 
them. A verdict was given in favor of the father ; but before 
it could be executed, Napoleon's sudden return from Elba 
suspended the pro-ceedings, and again threw France and the 
whole continent into confusion. On the 20th of March, 1815, 
he reached his former capital. The ex-queen of Holland was 
among the first to congratulate him. Her reception at the 
Tuilleries, contrary to her expectation, was rather cold. Na- 
poleon condemned her for having remained at Paris during 
the supremacy of the Bourbons. But Hortense had an 
excuse ready, which was both reasonable and adroit. Said 
she: "Sire, I had a strong presentiment that you w^ould 
return; and I waited for you here." The great hero and 



OF NAPOLEON III. 31 

stern conqueror at once melted down very perceptibly at this 
skilful reply. 

The day after jSTapoleon's return, Hortense presented to 
him her sons. He received them with warm and affectionate 
feelings. The King of Rome was then a captive and a state- 
prisoner at Venice, with his mother ; and the importance of 
the children of Hortense became magnified in consequence 
of that fact. They became the inheritors of the attentions 
which would have fallen to the lot of the son of Maria Louisa. 
At the august ceremony of the ratification of the new con- 
stitution, in the Champs de Mai, they stood by the side of 
Napoleon's throne ; he presented them separately to the de- 
putations of the army and the people ; and he regarded thein 
as pledges to confirm the new alliance which on that day had 
been made between France and the returned Emperor. At 
Napoleon's request, Hortense wrote to Maria Louisa to urge 
her to make some movements toward reaching her husband. 
But all her arguments were thrown away upon the stupid and 
imbecile nature of the ignoble being, whom fortune had in- 
sanely elevated to share the throne of the aspiring hero of a 
hundred battles. Hortense received no answer to her elo- 
quent and impassioned representations. In the absence of 
Maria Louisa from the imperial court, Hortense assumed her 
place, and did the honors. She was consequently beset with 
an infinite number of applications ; and she displayed in this 
high place the same generosity and benevolence in relieving 
the miseries of others, which had so eminently characterized 
her mother in former years, when she occupied the same posi- 
tion, and possessed the same power. At her instance, Napo- 
leon permitted the dowager Duchess of Bourbon, and the 
Duchess of Orleans, to remain in France, and even bestowed 
on the former an income of four hundred thousand francs, and 
one of two hundred thousand on the latter. 

At length, on the swift wings of time, the decisive day of 
Waterloo arrived. On its ensanguined plain the vast empire 
of Napoleon fell prostrate in the dust, never to be revived 



32 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

again during his own existence. Six days afterward, Hor- 
tense and her sons met their fallen benefactor at Malniaison, 
The ex-queen did her utmost to console and encourage him ; 
she offered to place her whole fortune at his command, and 
to share his destiny, whatever it might be. When at last a 
final separation became necessary, and Napoleon was com- 
pelled to commence that journey, which eve.pitually resulted in 
placing him as a prisoner for the rest of ^>^life in the stern 
grasp of his foes, the parting was most aff^Jing. The young 
Louis, especially, — his future, though then 'emsuspected heir, 
— clung to his uncle, screamed, and refused to leave him. 
He was taken away at last by main force ; and as Napoleon 
was then in possession of but slender means, Hortense in- 
duced him to accept her diamond necklace, worth eight hun- 
dred thousand francs, which she sewed up in a silk ribbon, and 
concealed in his dress. Tliis jewel Napoleon never parted 
with ; not even amid the deprivation and semi-starvations of 
St. Helena ; and by his will he requested Montholon to re- 
store it to Hortense. The important trust was faithfully exe- 
cuted, and it was returned^to its generous donor in an hour 
of dire necessity. In b^*^ old ^age, Hortense sold it to the 
King of Bavaria for the^uEing annuity of twenty-three thou- 
sand francs ; which she sufr^yed to enjoy only two years. 

Shortly after the capitulation of Paris, a strong current of 
hostile public feeling arose against Napoleon ; and Hortense 
and her sons, who still remained in the capital, were in con- 
siderable danger. She succeeded in concealing them safely 
in a hose establishment on the Boulevard Montmartre, kept 
by one of her faithful personal friends, Madame Tessier. 
During the second occupation of Paris by the allied troops, 
her hotel in the Rue Cerutti was occupied by the Austrian 
Prince Schwartzenberg ; and she hoped thai this circumstance 
would increase her security. She was mistaken. She shared 
the general odium which now gathered around the Bonaparte 
family. Even the attachment and esteem of the Emperor 
Alexander seems to have strangely waned ; and he even called 



OFNAPOLEONIII. 33 

at her hotel to see the Prince Schwartzenberg, without ever 
inquiring after her, or showing her the slightest courtesy. 
Such are the vicissitudes of fallen greatness ! 

At length the hostility of her enemies became so great, 
that the Allies sent her an order to leave Paris within two 
hours. Accordingly, on the 19th of July, 1815, she passed 
the barriers in the evening, under the conduct of the Count 
de Yoyna, aide- J< -camp to the Prince of Schwartzenberg, 
and chamberlain «jf the Austrian Emperor. She spent the 
first night at the Chateau de Bercy. On her route she met 
with demonstrations sometimes of popular hatred, and some- 
times of popular favor. At Dale, the multitude who crowded 
around her carriage, supposing that she was being led into 
captivity, were disposed to effect a rescue, and assail her con- 
ductor. They were appeased only by assurances from Hor- 
tense herself that such was not the fact. 

The first design of the fugitive and unfortunate ex-queen 
was to retire with her sons to an estate which she owned at 
Pregny, near Geneva. As soon as this purpose became 
known, the French Minister in Switzerland procured an 
order from the Swiss government '^'Shibiting her from doing 
so. In this emergency she directed her course to Aix, hoping 
there to find repose and protection. But here vexations of 
another nature awaited her. She was there met by an order 
from her husband, the Count de Leu, conveyed by the Baron 
de Zuite, to deliver to his messenger, their eldest son. Napo- 
leon.^ This demand was based upon the judgment which 

' This Bardn de Zuite is described by an English writer, as possessing 
a countenance indicating in the most unmistakeable manner, the exist- 
ence of every evil passion, and the predominance of every detestable 
vice. At first, Hortense refused positively to entrust her son to his 
care. She induced him to protract his stay by several clever pretexts, 
such as that it would be better for him first to form some acquaintance 
with his charge, before his journey began. During the interval thus 
obtained, the tutor whom Hortense had sent for, arrived, and accom- 
panied her son, when his departure at last became inevitable. 

C 



34 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

had been rendered by the Parisian courts on the subject ; and 
there was no power which could or would prevent the execu- 
tion of the decree. Accordingly, Hortense was compelled, 
after many protestations and many tears, to resign her eldest 
son to the custody and possession of his father. For the 
first time, the mother and son were separated ; and the part- 
ing scene was affecting in the extreme. At length the last 
embraces were given, the last adieus were uttered ; and the 
young Napoleon departed for Rome under the conduct of a 
preceptor chosen for him by his mother, together with his 
father's confidential agent. 

Young Louis Napoleon also felt this separation keenly. 
He was then seven years of age, and the brothers were much 
attached to each other. Napoleon the elder, was bold, reso- 
lute, and determined in his disposition. Louis was taciturn, 
timid, mild, yet intelligent and reflective. The one even 
then was in every sense a Frenchman. The other already 
seemed to all intents and purposes a Dutchman. There was 
no rivalry, because there was no similarity between their 
natures. They loved each other ; and found an appropriate 
and harmonious counterpart in each other's peculiarities. 
The younger, especially, was much affected at the loss of his 
brother's animated and agreeable society ; and he turned 
with great tenderness to his mother's protection. 

But Hortense was not permitted long to remain even at 
Aix.^ The Sardinian government was disposed to sympathize 

1 While at Constance, as well as at Aix, Louis was in the habit of 
playing with all the boys of the neighborhood, among whom was the 
miller's son. The father of this lad lived on the bridge which spanned 
the Rhine, close to the house of Hortense, and the young miller, being 
older than Louis, often tempted him to go beyond the limits which he 
had been forbidden to exceed. One day, when he had made his escape, 
and the abbe at the top of his voice was shouting after him to return, 
Mdlle. Cochelet, his mother's principal companion, observed him ap- 
proach, making a most ludicrous figure. He was in his shirt-sleeves, 
and walking barefoot carelessly through the mud and snow. Had he 
been able to reach his own room unobserved, it would have been all 



OF NAPOLEON III. 35 

with her enemies, and it scrutinized her movements in the 
most vexatious manner, and eventually compelled her to 
resume her wanderings. She concluded to repair to Constance, 
in the Grand Duchy of Baden. She thought she would there 
be protected, inasmuch as the Grand Duchess, Stephanie de 
Beauharnois, was her cousin. But to reach this spot she was 
compelled to obtain permission to pass through Switzerland. 
After great difficulty this permission was obtained, and Hor- 
tense, accompaned by her son Louis Napoleon, his tutor, the 
Abbe Bertrand, Mad'emoiselle Cochelet, her reader, and a 
servant, departed from Aix. She desired to pass the first 
night on her own estate at Bregny; but even this small boon 
was denied her by the French and Swiss authorities. At 
Morat she was even put under temporary arrest. Having 
arrived at Constance, she was immediately informed that 
however much the grand duke and duchess might be anxious 
to serve her, they were under the control of higher powers, 
and therefore could afford her no protection. She answered 
to these representations, that her health and the season of the 
year -^ it was then November — did not permit her then to 
continue her journey ; and she desired to be permitted to 
remain only till the ensuing spring. 

At this moment of gloom and despair, when thus appa- 
rently an outcast from every clime and country in Europe, 
Hortense received a secret letter from the grand duchess, in 
which, after having given her encouragement, she added : 
" Have patience, and do not be uneasy ; perhaps all will be 
right by spring. By that time passions will have calmed, and 
many things will have been forgotten." Comforted by these 

very well ; but he was put considerably out of countenance by being 
found in such a condition in the street. Upon being questioned how he 
came to be in that plight, he explained how, while playing at the en- 
trance to the garden, he had seen a family go by, so poor and miserable 
that it was quite painful to look at them. He therefore took off his 
shoes, and put them on the feet of one of the children, and gave his 
coat to another, because, as he said, he happened to have no money to 
give them. 



36 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

words, Hortense rented a modest mansion on the beautiful 
shore of the lake of Constance, and resumed her usual habits 
of life. There she remained during the year 1816. Her 
drooping spirits again revived. She was visited by many 
illustrious personages in her obscure retirement. Here she 
enjoyed for a time the society of her brother Eugene. The 
Austrian prime-minister, Prince Metternich, offered her a 
more agreeable residence at Bregentz on the same lake, which, 
however she declined. Her health became restored, and she 
again resembled the graceful, accomplished, and attractive 
woman who had once shone as one of the brightest ornaments 
of the brilliant court of St. Cloud. She indulged in her usual 
amusements ; and, inspired by the romantic scenery which sur- 
rounded her, she gratified her taste for literary and musical 
composition. It was here that she composed, among many- 
other songs of great taste and beauty, the celebrated national 
French air, Partant pour la Syrie, which to this day remains, 
after the celebrated Marseilles Hymn, the nation's favorite. 

In the following spring, Hortense and her son visited Prince 
Eugene at Berg, a country seat of his father-in-law, the King 
of Bavaria, where she was received with the respect and 
affection which were due her. She passed the summer with 
her son at the baths of Geiss, among the mountains of Appen- 
zell, and derived great benefit from their medicinal qualities. 
In the fall of 1816 she returned to Constance, and here devoted 
the whole of her attention to the education of her son. She 
herself taught him drawing and dancing. On each Saturday 
she spent the whole day in reviewing the studies of the week, 
and marking and commending his progress. At this period 
Louis was not remarkable for intellectual improvement. His 
physical development seemed now to predominate, and he be- 
came restless, active, and almost ungovernable. The gentle 
cares of the Abbe Bertrand were now useless, and Hortense 
provided for him another and more resolute tutor, M. Lebos, 
from the Normal School at Paris. Yet, at this period, the 
developing impulses of his nature were generous, noble, and 



OF NAPOLEON III. 37 

manly, and gave promise of a more vigorous and active man- 
hood than his more youthful years appeared to have prognos- 
ticated. His active habits served to develop his physical 
energies. His features gained in expressiveness what they 
lost in regularity. They lost something of the beauty of his 
supposed father, the Dutch nobleman, but they displayed 
more of the intelligence of Hortense. 

Thus the life of the persecuted ex-queen was flowing for a 
brief interval tranquilly along, when once more, in the be- 
ginning of 181*7, the hostility of her enemies drove her and 
her son from their chosen retreat. The Grand Duke of Baden 
received orders from the Allies to send her out of his dominions. 
Her thoughts now recurred to the generous treatment which 
she had received in the neighboring district of Thurgovia ; 
and in her rides through this canton she had often admired 
the picturesque beauty of an estate and manor known by the 
name of Arenemberg. She now proposed to purchase it, and 
to obtain permission from the authorities of the canton to 
reside there. She was successful in both applications. Are- 
nemberg became her home, at the cost of sixty thousand 
francs. There she spent many happy years, and there at last 
she died. 

In 1818 a partial reconciliation happily took place between 
Hortense and her husband, and the latter permitted her to 
enjoy the society of her eldest son for several months. After 
an absence of three years the brothers again met. Louis 
Napoleon was now seventeen years of age, and had finished 
his studies in the college of Augsburg. In 1824 Prince 
Eugene died, and in 1825 his father-in-law, the best surviving 
friend of Hortense, King Maximilian, of Bavaria, followed 
him to the grave. It was after these sad events that she 
determined to divide her time between Arenemberg and 
Rome, the residence of her husband. The winters she spent 
in the capital of the Christian world ; the summers were 
passed at her delightful retreat in Switzerland. At Rome 
she became the centre of the most brilliant society, for there 
4 



38 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

she was surrounded not only by the polished and illustrious 
princes of the church, but she also met her accomplished and 
fascinating relative, Pauline Bonaparte, who had married the 
Prince Borghese. Hortense resided with this lady at her 
Yilla Paolina, where she was constantly addressed with 
the title, and served with the ceremonial, of loyalty. Her 
chief wealth, and her most precious relics, were collected to- 
gether at Arenemberg. It was here that she cherished and 
preserved, among many other sad and affecting souvenirs of 
those unparalleled days of glory, felicity, and splendor which 
had "forever passed away, the beautiful miniature of the King 
of Rome, which, on the bleak and rocky summit of St. Helena, 
had received the last kiss of the expiring Emperor.^ 

At this period Louis Napoleon commenced his military 
studies and exercises, in connection with a Baden regiment 
garrisoned in Constance. He now also devoted his attention 
to the study of physics and chemistry, under the direction of 
a learned Frenchman named Giestard. He was afterward 
admitted into the camp of Thun, in the canton of Berne, 
where he studied engineering and artillery-practice under 
Colonel Dufour, an old hero of the Grand Armee. His per- 
sonal activity and martial bearing made the young prince a 
great favorite in the camp. He excelled in all martial 
exercises and manoeuvres. He seemed to be fond of fatigue, 
and became particularly partial to artillery practice and 
science. When the imbecile Bourbons fell, in the revolution 
of July, 1830, Louis Napoleon cherished the enthusiastic 
hope that he might at last be permitted to return to his native 
land. In this expectation he was disappointed ; although 
Louis Philippe sent to Hortense assurances of his esteem and 
protection ; and intimated to her that the future might per- 
haps enable him to gratify his wishes towards her more 
effectually than the existing posture of affairs then permitted. 

1 Vide Memoires sur la Reine Hortense et la Famille Imperial par MHle. 
Cochelet, Lectrice de la Reine [Mad. Parquin), Vol. III., p. 162. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 39 



CHAPTER II. 

Outbreak of the Revolution in Italy — Secret Conclave of tbe Bona- 
partes in Rome — Louis Napoleon commanded to withdraw from the 
Papal Capital — He joins the Revolutionists — Death of his elder 
brother at Faenza — His own Sickness — His arrival at Paris with his 
Mother — Their reception by Louis Philippe — Compelled to retire to 
England — Their removal to Arenemberg in Switzerland — The Polish 
Revolution — Death of the Duke of Reichstadt — Louis Napoleon com- 
plimented by the Polish Refugees — His private studies at Arenem- 
berg — Publishes his Reveries Politiques — Nature and Contents of this 
Work — He Publishes his Consider ationes Politiques ei Militaires sur la 
Suisse — Character of this Work — Compliments of the Helvetic Diet 
— Louis Napoleon invited to marry the Queen of Portugal — His rea- 
sons for refusing to do so. 

The revolution of 1830 in France rekindled the fierce 
flames of popular discontent in Italy. The tyranny of Aus- 
tria was then, as it is now, both a curse and a disgrace to the 
land of the ancient conquerors of the world ; and there were 
not wanting men among their degenerate descendants, who 
possessed the courage to strike a deadly blow at the despot's 
power. 

Louis Napoleon spent the winter of 1830 in Rome with 
his mother. He was surrounded by revolutionary influences 
and elements, and became imbued with their spirit. He 
identified himself with the principles and measures of the 
patriots. Excluded by the jealousy and caution of Louis 
Philippe from taking any share, however humble, in the 
movements which were progressing in his native country, he 
turned with greater sympathy to the similar revolutionary and 
popular changes which were taking place in Italy. He 
became the object of much interest to the progressive party ; 
and this circumstance excited at once the distrust of the 
Papal government. Another incident served to increase the 
suspicion with which he was now regarded. In December, 



40 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

1830, a portion of the Bonaparte family had held a secret 
conclave at Rome. It was composed of Madame Letitia, 
the mother of the ex-Emperor, Cardinal Fesch, Jerome Bo- 
naparte, Hortense, and her two sons, the elder of whom, 
having married his cousin, the second daughter of Joseph 
Bonaparte, resided at Florence. It could not be doubted 
that the object of this secret assemblage of the fallen dynasty 
bore some reference to the political events which were then 
transpiring. The Papal government immediately requested, 
through Cardinal Fesch, that Louis Napoleon should with- 
draw from Rome. The request was not complied with. The 
government then sent a guard of fifty men to the residence 
of the prince, for the purpose of conducting him by force to 
the frontiers. He escaped their grasp, and fled to Florence. 
Scarcely had he disappeared when the insurrection of the 
Romagna burst forth. The main object of this movement 
was to overthrow the detested power of Austria in Italy, and 
to restore the national unity so long dissevered and broken. 
Louis Napoleon and his elder brother entered with enthusiasm 
into this movement. Tri-colored flags waved above the bat- 
tlements of Ferrara, Urbino, and several other Italian cities. 
Louis Napoleon was active in forming moving columns, and 
in organizing the revolutionary efforts. Nor were the endea- 
vors of the insurgents fruitless of results. They defeated the 
Papal troops on several occasions ; and high hopes began to 
be entertained that something might yet be won for Italian 
liberty. The Yatican was filled with terror, and the worst 
consequences were apprehended. At this crisis, Hortense 
was constrained to leave Rome and repair to Florence, the 
head-quarters of her sons, whose influence among the revo- 
lutionists, young as they were, was almost unbounded. Ho.r- 
tense herself was not opposed to the share which her sons 
took in these transactions ; but her husband. Cardinal Fesch, 
and Jerome Bonaparte, were highly incensed at it, and 
demanded of them that they should abandon a career which 
they deemed pregnant with the most injurious consequences, 
not only to themselves, but to the whole family. Their re- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 41 

presentations were useless, and the brothers remained un- 
moved. They took part in an action fought at Bologna 
between the Papal troops and the insurgents, and highly dis- 
tinguished themselves by their intrepidity. But the Austrians 
came to the relief of the government forces, and the insur- 
gents were at length compelled to retire to Forli. As is 
usually the case, treachery, more fatal than the Austrian 
bayonets, infected the camp. The two princes were deprived 
of their commands, and disunion began to prevail. The ul- 
timate result was, that the revolution became a total failure, 
and the chief care of those who had participated in it was to 
escape, if possible, the grasp of the offended and terrified, 
but now triumphant authorities.^ 

' It is very clear that the presence of the young Napoleon was looked 
upon by the Papal government as the chief support of the insurrection. 
Jerome saw the Pope, a consultation was held, and an officer, M. de 
Stoelting, was despatched to the republican camp, authorized by His 
Holiness to enter into a parley with the insurgents, to inquire what 
they wanted, and to promise compliance with their wishes. Stoeltino- 
saw the elder Prince Napoleon, and desired him to draw up a statement 
of the demands and complaints of the army. He consulted its chiefs, 
and with their authority delivered to the Pope's envoy a summary of 
the reforms for which the people asked. 

Whatever may have been their secret intentions, it seems probable 
that the pertinacious interference of the effete and timid members of 
the Bonaparte family at length produced its effect. The provisional 
government of Bologna was seized with timidity, and refused to attempt 
the storming of Rome. It then dispatched General Sercognani with 
fresh troops, to replace the young Napoleons. 

During the progress of this revolution, the father of the young 
princes behaved with singular folly and absurdity. He compelled 
Hortense to write to General Armandi, who commanded the revolu- 
tionists, and who had been the tutor of the elder of the young men, re- 
questing him to dismiss them from the camp. He refused to send his 
sons any assistance, not even the money necessary for their comfort 
and equipment. His narrow policy may be said to have caused the 
misery of both, and perhaps the death of one of them. He also wrote 
to them in person, desiring them instantly to abandon the revolutionary 
standard. 

4 * 



42 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Other and greater misfortunes now overwhelmed the un- 
happy Hortense and her sons. The elder of them, when on 
the retreat to Forli, was attacked with the small-pox, or as 
others have asserted, by an internal inflammation of some 
kind, and expired on the 2Yth of March, 1831, at Faenza. 
Hortense had received information of his illness, and she im- 
mediately started from Florence to his relief. She arrived 
too late, and the young Napoleon expired in the arms of his 
brother. The latter was himself attacked with the small-pox 
at Ancona. The care of his mother, who reached him when 
in rapid retreat at Pesaro, rescued him from the fate of his 
brother. On leaving Florence she had provided a passport, 
under the name of an English lady travelling with her two 
sons. She still used this passport, and represented one of 
the young insurgent chiefs, the Marquis Zappi, as her 
son. The Austrians had set a price upon the head of the 
surviving Napoleon. Strict search was made for him, but in 
vain. A report prevailed that he had escaped in a small 
vessel to Malta, and this delusion served to relax the severity 
of the efforts made to capture him. Thus favored by for- 
tune, Hortense and her son succeeded in evading the Aus- 
trian troops, embarked in a vessel for Cannes, and safely ar- 
rived at that port ; the same which sixteen years before had 
witnessed the bold and desperate return of the great Napo- 
leon from Elba. They resolved to travel directly to Paris, 
and throw themselves upon the generosity of Louis Philippe. 

Having arrived, at length, at Paris, the first act of Louis 
Napoleon was to address a respectful letter to the king, ask- 
ing permission to enter the French army as a private soldier. 
This step Hortense, less enthusiastic than her son, did not 
approve. She took up her residence at the hotel de Holland, 
and immediately informed Louis Philippe of her arrival. It is 
said that her letter communicating this fact arrived at the palace 
just as Sebastiani, the sagacious minister of the king for Foreign 
Affairs, informed the Council that she had landed at Malta. 
Louis Philippe sent Casimir Perin, the President of the Coun- 



OFNAPOLEONIII. 43 

cil, to wait upon her. She excused herself for violating the 
law which banished the family of Napoleon from the French 
territory, and confidently claimed the mercy of the sovereign. 
Louis Philippe granted her an audience, during which he 
said to her: " I know what exile is, and it is not my fault, 
if yours has not already terminated." She was also per- 
mitted to see the queen and Madame Adelaide, the king's 
sister. Her presence in Paris was still a secret to the public, 
when the 5th of May arrived, the anniversary of the Emperor 
Napoleon's death. On that day the Parisians were in the habit 
of covering the base of the column in the Place Vendome with 
evergreens ; which, therefore, seemed dedicated to the memory 
of Napoleon, Hortense and her son had now been twelve 
days in Paris, and by this time the news became known that 
they were present. The multitude who surrounded the trium- 
phal column rushed, as if by a common impulse, to the hotel 
where the ex-queen and the prince were sojourning, and filled 
the air with their shouts. Marshal Lobau, commander of 
the National Guards, dispersed them by the novel means of 
fire-engines, which effectually quenched the intensity of their 
enthusiasm by immense discharges of water instead of grape- 
shot. 

But this incident, though it terminated so comically, un- 
happily excited the fears and jealousy of the king. Hortense 
was given to understand that she could not longer remain in 
the French territories. Accordingly, she once more resumed 
her pilgrimage, and on the 10th of May embarked, at Calais, 
for England.^ Her son accompanied her, for he too had 

1 A day or two before her departure from Paris, Hortense had attended 
mass at the church of St. Roche, in the rue St. Honor^, where by acci- 
dent she sat next to M. Lamartine, who was pointed out to her by the 
Marchese Zappi. She had always admired Lamartine's writings, and 
now she extended her admiration to the man. What would she have 
said could she have foreseen that he would one day be her son's com- 
petitor for the presidentship of the French Republic; that the admission 
of the Bonaparte family into France would be in part owing to his re- 



44 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

become personally obnoxious to the reig^ning family. He had 
uttered sentiments, in the letter which he had addressed to 
the king:, which indicated a superior dei2:ree of intelligence and 
determination, — acknowledging the right of Louis Philippe 
as the representative of a great nation, to occupy the throne 
to which they had invited him. He was too aspiring, and 
too dangerous, to be permitted to remain in France. 

In England, and especially at Woburn Abbey, the seat of 
the Duke of Bedford, the ex-qUeen and her son were treated 
with great consideration. They were honored by men of all 
parties and factions. The adroit Talleyrand did his utmost 
to worm himself into the intended aims and purposes of Hor- 
tense, but her self-possession and her superior sagacity com- 
pletely foiled him. While, perhaps, herself uncertain what 
course to take, the authorities of the canton of Thurgovia 
presented her son with the rights of citizenship. This was 
the district in which her estate of Arenemberg was situated. 
The document which conferred upon the young prince this 
honor recited ho# the canton was under great obligations to 
the duchess of St. Leu for many favors ; and that the said 
honor was bestowed in consideration of those favors. It 
bore date the 30th of April, 1832. To this grateful testimo- 
nial of esteem the prince replied in appropriate terms. He 
thanked them for the honor of being made ''the citizen of a 
free nation," expressed the pleasure which his mother derived 
from their courtesy, and tendered his best wishes for the 
prosperity of the canton. He also sent them, as further testi- 
monials of his esteem, two six-pounders, with complete trains 
and equipage ; and he also founded a free school in the vil- 
lage of Sallenstein. In consequence of the state of kindly 

missness; and that he would have to repent in sackcloth and ashes 
all the days of his life for this act of negligence and weakness? 

On the 6th of May they left Paris, and proceeded to Chantilly. In 
four days they reached Calais, crossed the Channel, and were on their 
way to London. Here Louis Napoleon was attacked by the jaundice, 
and looked as yellow as a guinea. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 45 

feeling expressed by the Swiss toward her and her son, Hor- 
tense now determined to take up her permanent residence at 
Arenemberg. She proposed to pass through Belgium and 
Brussels ; but this was forbidden her, as her presence in the 
Belgian capital, with her son, might lead to serious conse- 
quences. The Belgians might, perhaps, elect the prince to 
their then vacant throne, and results of the most important 
nature might ensue. The whole corps diplomatique in Lon- 
don assembled together, and the most earnest representations 
were made against granting her a passport through France. 
At length, in August, Hortense left England, and landed at 
Cahiis with her son. Avoiding Paris and Brussels, in ac- 
cordance with the requisitions of Louis Philippe, she visited 
tlie tomb of her mother, Josephine, at Ruel, passed through 
Chantilly and other cherished and familiar places, and finally 
reached Arenemberg in safety.^ 

On his return to Switzerland Louis Napoleon was honored 
by a deputation of Poles sent from Warsaw, who proposed 
to place him at the head of their revolutionary movements, 

1 On arriving at Chantilly, she visited the palace of the Condes 
and the magnificent forest which, during the era of the Empire, had 
been her own private property. It was extremely natural that Hortense 
should wish to know whether or not she was still remembered in the re- 
gion where she had once been so powerful. She inquired of the man who 
conducted them through Chantilly and its vicinity, to whom those woods 
formerly belonged. He replied, to Queen Hortense, and added, that for 
many years she was supposed to roam about the forest in disguise, but 
that for some time people had ceased to talk of her, "Ah! without 
doubt, she is dead," replied the queen; and the idea pleased her — find- 
ing that she was forgotten by the world. 

After wandering about, reviving sad reminiscences at every step, 
Hortense and her son proceeded to St. Denis, and afterwards through 
a number of other places, in many, if not in most, of which she had seen 
liappier days. In company with his mother Louis Napoleon visited 
Erraenonville and Morfontaine, where she had once resided with her 
mother Josephine. A rickety old boat took them over, at Ermenon- 
ville, to the Isle of Poplars, consecrated to the memory of Rousseau, 
where she and her son inscribed their names upon his tomb. 



46 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

with an ultimate prospect of the possession of the throne of 
the Jagellons. The young prince was at this time twenty- 
three years of age. The letter which the deputation bore was 
signed by many of the most distinguished patriots of the 
nation, including General Kniazewicz, and Count Plater. 
The prince enthusiastically accepted the high mission ; and 
fearing the more cautious opposition of his mother, he left 
Arenemberg without her knowledge or permission, and started 
for the Polish frontier. But, happily for his future destiny, 
ere he had progressed far upon his journey the news of the 
fall of Warsaw on the 1th of September, put an end to his 
progress and restored him to his home. 

When the melancholy death of the Duke of Reichstadt 
took place at Vienna, in July, 1832, the importance of Louis 
Napoleon in the great system of European politics became 
immensely magnified. He became thenceforth the direct and 
recognized heir of the Napoleonic dynasty. The thoughtful 
solicitude of all the sovereigns of Europe now clustered around 
the obscure estate and manor of Arenemberg. It is well 
known that Talleyrand, on behalf of Louis Philippe, sent a 
secret emissary to reside permanently near Arenemberg, for 
the purpose of watching the movements of the prince. The 
castle was secretly surrounded by invisible but vigilant agents 
of many anxious and uneasy kings, who intently yet unobtru- 
sively scrutinized his conduct. But their labors led to no 
satisfactory results. The truth was that the prince now led 
a retired life, engaged in literary pursuits. Pie did not forget 
that he was the direct heir of the claims of the great Napo- 
leon, inasmuch as Joseph Bonaparte had no male children, 
and Lucien Bonaparte and his family had been expressly ex- 
cluded from the succession by the will of the Emperor himself, 
and by the provisions of the Flebiscite ; but Louis Napoleon 
felt convinced that the time of action had not yet arrived. It 
would have been well for his fame and fortune had he enter- 
tained the same opinion on several important occasions of 
his subsequent career. Although his thoughts at this period 



OF NAPOLEON III. 47 

were chiefly engaged in studious labors, he was not forgotten 
by the chivalrous people who had once invited him to ascend 
their vacant throne. He was constantly visited by crowds of 
Polish refugees, and his purse was always open to relieve 
their necessities. He sent to the Polish committee at Berne 
a beautiful and valuable casket, which Napoleon himself had 
once possessed, iu order that a lottery might be organized to 
relieve the wants of many of the exiles. He received in 
return the following expressive reply : " Five hundred Polish 
refugees, grateful for his generous solicitude, have the honor 
to present their sentiments of the most profound regard to 
the illustrious descendant of the Emperor Napoleon, August 
6th, 1833." 

Nor were the various studies in which Louis Napoleon had 
already engaged fruitless in cultivating his intellectual powers, 
in storing his mind with valuable knowledge, and in enabling 
him to systematize and settle his own views on the great 
themes which appertain to the science of government. He 
now employed his leisure in the composition of his '^Beveries 
PolitiqueSy^^ which work was published in 1832. This pro- 
duction, emanating from a young man of twenty-four years 
of age, indicates more than ordinary ability. It displays an 
originality of thought and powers of generalization which 
very much exceed the usual range of juvenile capacity. The 
author clearly describes and characterizes the several forms 
of government which had successively prevailed in France, 
and the relation which they severally bore to the development 
of liberty. He very truly says of the reign of Louis Philippe, 
that while it indicated the sovereignty of the people, and 
promoted the reign of merit, its passions were fear, egotism, 
and meanness. The whole reign of Louis Philippe was over- 
shadowed and tarnished by a craven fear of the powers and 
movements of the people ; by a constant endeavor to magnify 
and glorify the Orleans dynasty in every possible way ; and 
by despicable and greedy avarice of money, of dignities, of 
alliances, and of emoluments. 



48 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

In this work, Louis Napoleon also asserts very positively 
the great ideas which he has since endeavored to realize in 
his own administration. ''A day will come," says he, "when 
virtue shall triumph over intrigue, when merit shall have more 
power than prejudice, when glory shall crown liberty." He 
declares that this noble end can only be accomplished by 
uniting the two popular causes, that of the people, with that 
of him who came forth from among the people and ascended 
to unparalleled heights of power and glory through their 
means, — the Emperor Napoleon. He contends that with this 
great name the people never associate the ideas of terror, of 
imbecility, or of insecurity ; and he urges on the French 
nation their obligation to be grateful to him who, springing 
from the ranks of the people, did everything for them and 
through them. He asserts that if they ever become free, it 
is to Napoleon — his genius, his imperishable spirit, and his 
undying glory that they will owe it. " Do not reproach him 
for his dictatorship, his despotism, if you will," says he. 
" The Emperor was leading us to liberty, as the ploughshare 
cuts the furrows to prepare the fertility of the soil. Equality 
before the laws, the superiority of merit, the prosperity of 
commerce and industry, and the emancipation of nations, — 
these are the glorious consummations to which he was con- 
ducting us." Many sentiments are uttered in this book, which, 
though possessing neither originality nor intellectual merit, are 
yet important, as having been declared by the nian who after- 
ward ascended to such a brilliant eminence. Thus he asserts 
that the first wants of a country are liberty, stability, the 
supremacy of merit, and the general diffusion of physical 
comfort among the people ; that the best government is that 
in which every abuse of power can always be corrected ; and 
where the head of the government can be changed at any 
time without social disorder, and without the effusion of 
blood. How widely Louis Napoleon has himself wandered 
from these admirable principles, in the later and more decisive 
events of his career every intelligent reader can readily judge. 



or NAPOLEON III. 49 

Unhappily some of these Reveries Politiques remain to this 
day a silent, yet potent reproof of the monarchical and despotic 
tendencies of their author. Yet it is not probable nor pos- 
sible that he intended to execute all of them, should he 
ever attain to the possession of power. They accomplished 
the purpose for which they were written ; which evidently 
was to win the confidence of the French nation, to indicate 
that he was employing his leisure in intellectual pursuits, and 
to prove to the world that he possessed the power and capacity 
to write and think. 

The same work contains the project of a Constitution, in 
which some remarkable ideas are set forth. Its fundamental 
principle is universal suffrage. It contains a declaration of 
the rights of man, which reiterates the same great doctrines 
which were put forth in the declaration proclaimed in 1T89, 
when the billows of the first great revolution began to surge 
and roll over France. The legislative power was to be 
delegated to two assemblies, the Tribunate and the Senate. 
The imperial dignity was to be hereditary ; although at each 
new accession to the throne, the sanction of the people, and 
their free approbation, were to be essential to the validity of 
the claim to the possession of the supreme power. The author 
asserts, also, that harmony between the governor and the 
governed can only be maintained by one of two means, either 
where the people allow themselves to be ruled by the absolute 
will of one ; or where the sovereign rules according to the 
will of all. The utter absurdity of the latter proposition 
must strike every reflecting mind ; for where the will of the 
nation becomes the absolute guide of the ruler, he cannot be 
said, in any sense, to rule ; but he is in reality the servant and 
slave of the popular behest, which thus becomes the supreme 
and despotic master in the State. The professed aim of this 
Constitution was to suggest the means of securing internal 
order and liberty by the strengthening of authority. Its real 
effect would have been, as it actually has become in its present 
developed and realized state, to establish order and to 
5 D 



:^.^ 



60 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

strengthen despotism, by the curtailment and suppression of 
liberty ; for it must be conceded that the Constitution pro- 
posed by Louis Napoleon, in 1832, has been retained by him 
in its leading ideas through all his subsequent career, until it 
became in a great measure realized by the memorable events 
of 1852. He deserves the merit of consistency; for those 
provisions of this constitution which promote liberty, he 
obeyed and realized during the earlier and more dependent 
period of his career ; those which commend despotic measures 
he has followed out and executed afterward, when he possessed 
the power so to do. This Constitution is double-faced ; and 
so Louis Napoleon has himself pre-eminently been through- 
out his whole career. 

A second work issued from the pen of our princely author 
in 1833. This was his " Consider ationes Politiques et Mili- 
taires sur la Suisse.^ ^ In this production a marked im- 
provement was perceptible in the writer's powers of thought 
and composition. It attracted considerable attention both 
among diplomatic circles throughout Europe, and also among 
military men. It discusses with discrimination and ability 
all the various Constitutions of the Cantons, their merits and 
provisions ; and it also examines the military position, inte- 
rests and necessities of the Swiss. It designates, in this con- 
nection, a line and method of defence which, if adopted and 
energetically executed by the Helvetic Diet, would render the 
territories and the homes of the bold mountaineers impreg- 
nable to any foreign foe. The style of the work is elevated 
and scholarlike, and would have made a mark in the litera- 
ture of the day, independently of the relations and prospects 
of the writer. It was referred to in the sessions of the Diet 
as a remarkable work ; and as a reward for his labors, and 
for his interest in the prosperity of the Swiss, that body unani- 
mously decreed to him the honorable epithet of citizen of 
the Swiss Republic. This was a token of esteem which had 
very rarely been bestowed. Two instances of the kind only 
are on record, and these involve names with which Louis 



OF NAPOLEON III. 51 

Napoleon need not blush to have been associated. They 
were Marshal Ney, and Prince Metternich. In June, 1834, 
the Diet again expressed their esteem for the person and cha- 
racter of the Prince, by conferring upon him the rank of cap- 
tain of artillery in the Bernese regiment. In truth he became 
exceedingly popular among his adopted countrymen ; nor did 
he neglect any means whereby he might win their esteem. 
He attended the great gymnastic festivals which are held in 
many of the Cantons, and took part in their manly combats. 
He frequently bore away the prizes which were awarded to 
superior skill in the use of fire-arms, in horsemanship, in the 
management of the spear and lance, and even in aquatic 
exercises. 

At this period a gleam of brighter fortunes seemed to dawn 
upon the dark horizon of his career. His European import- 
ance had then become so great, that when the constitutional 
party triumphed in Portugal, in 1835, and the young and 
beautiful Donna Maria was elevated to the throne, the lead- 
ing statesmen of that country proposed Louis Napoleon to 
the queen as an appropriate match for her. She herself ac- 
quiesced in the proposition ; but the Prince declined it. He 
assigned two reasons for this course of conduct, both of 
which were satisfactory and honorable. The first was, that 
such an alliance might, and probably would, separate his fate 
and interests from those of France. The second was, that 
his acceptance of the offer would interfere with the wishes 
and aspirations of his cousin, the Duke of Leuchtenberg, the 
son of Prince Eugene, who desired the alliance himself. 

In consequence of this refusal, the Queen of Portugal 
married the Duke of Leuchtenberg. That prince died very 
soon after his marriage ; and again the same proposition 
was made to Louis Napoleon. Again the latter declined it, 
and published the following letter in vindication of his motives 
and his conduct : 

" Several journals have made known the intelligence of my 
departure for Portugal, as a pretender to the hand of Queen 



52 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Donna Maria. However flattering for me may be the idea 
of a union with a young queen, beautiful and virtuous, widow 
of a cousin whom I tenderly loved, still it is my duty to re- 
fate such a report, as no step of mine, that I am aware of, 
could have furnished any grounds for announcing it. 

"I may even add that, notwithstanding the strong interest 
attached to the destinies of a people who have just recovered 
their independence, I would refuse the honor of sharing the 
throne of Portugal, if by any chance I should be offered such 
an exalted position. 

" The noble conduct of my father, who abdicated in 1810, 
because he could not reconcile the interests of France with 
those of Holland, has not escaped my recollection. 

" My father has proved to me, by his own example, how 
much to be preferred my country is to a seat on a foreign 
throne. I feel, in effect, that, habituated from my childhood 
to love my country above all things, I can prefer nothing to 
the interests of France. Convinced that the great name 
which I bear will not be always regarded by my countrymen 
as a ground for exclusion, reminding them as it does of fifteen 
years of glory, I wait calmly, in a free and hospitable coun- 
try, until the people recall those exiles that were banished in 
1815 by twelve hundred thousand foreigners. This hope of 
one day serving France, as a citizen and as a soldier, 
strengthens and consoles me in my retirement, and, in my 
eyes, is worth all the thrones in the world. "^ 

* See Eistoire de Napoleon III., par Paul Lacroix, vol. i., p. 210. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 53 



CHAPTER III. 

Pursuits and Studies of Louis Napoleon at Arenemberg — His Manual 
of Artillery — Character of that Work — He begins to plot — The 
Escapade of Strasburg — State of Public Feeling in France at that 
Period — Unpopularity of Louis Philippe — Preparations for the Plot 
at Arenemberg — The Hunting-Party — The Prince arrives at Baden- 
Baden — Hemeets Madame Gordon — Her Beauty and Talents — Her 
former History — She becomes a Devotee to the Prince — His Arrival 
at Strasburg — Meeting of the Conspirators — Suspicions aroused and 
allayed — Six o'clock arrives — Colonel Vaudrey — Submission of the 
Fourth Regiment — Greneral Voirol — The Prince's Identity denied — 
Total and rapid Failure of the Conspiracy — Arrest of the Conspi- 
rators — Examination and Responses of Louis Napoleon. 

Louis Napoleon continued to pass a retired and unobtru- 
sive existence amid the congenial shades of Arenemberg. 
His restless and inquiring mind felt the constant necessity of 
employment, and his habits at this period indicated that he 
both anticipated and prepared himself for a future career of 
adventure and activity. Ambition now seemed to become 
the predominant passion within him ; and his time was chiefly 
spent in intellectual pursuits and physical exercises. He 
lodged, not within the castle itself, which the cultivated and 
queenly Hortense had fitted up and adorned with every pos- 
sible appliance of luxury and enjoyment, but in a small and 
rude pavilion near its massive walls, and beneath the shadows 
of the surrounding forest. Here his frugal table was spread. 
His pursuits were laborious, and his habits partook of the 
rigor of military life. Neither a carpet nor an arm-chair 
adorned his simple abode ; but it was garnished with books, 
charts, philosophical Instruments, and fire-arms of every de- 
scription. At break of morn the prince leaped into his sad- 
dle, and usually rode several leagues before he returned to 
breakfast. The rest of the day was spent in his studies, his 
5* 



54 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

writings, and his practice with the sword, the rifle, and the 
lance. Both his studies and amusements now assumed a. 
military turn; and in December, 1835, he completed and 
published his "Manual of Artillery, for the Use of Artillery- 
Officers of the Helvetic Republic." 

This third production of Louis Napoleon evinces the pro- 
gress which he had made in intellectual and professional 
training. The volume contains everything of importance ' 
which can be said in reference to the subject of Artillery, 
both field, siege, and stationary. It contain^ an introduction 
which presents a comprehensive historical survey of the inven- 
tion and progress of cannon. The body of the work may 
be divided into three general departments. The first treats 
of field-artillery ; the second, of siege and stationary artillery ; 
the third, of the manufactories and constructions which are 
necessarily connected with their use. The work also dis- 
cusses the service and management of cannon, both upon the 
march and in action ; and it enters into scientific researches 
in reference to the theory of initial velocities, and the eleva- 
tion, pointing, and direction of guns. Other related topics 
are ably discussed, such as the science of fortification, both 
of attack and of defence ; the manufacture of gunpowder ; 
the casting of cannon ; and, in fact, every other theme which 
legitimately came within the scope of the subject. 

This work gives ample evidence of the industry, research, 
and discrimination of its author. It made him well known 
in the military circles of Europe ; and it clearly indicated 
that he was not only possessed of intellectual energies, which 
honorably distinguished him from the great herd of vapid and 
imbecile European princes, who dreamed away their useless 
and pernicious lives in idleness, luxury, and vice ; but also, 
that he was preparing himself for scenes of more than ordi- 
nary vicissitude and importance, to be developed in the 
uncertain future. 

Thus far, indeed, the events of the life of Louis Napoleon 
had passed by without a stigma ; each succeeding year had 



OF NAPOLEON III. 55 

added to the respect which was entertained for his character 
and talents ; and had augmented the interest, both hopeful 
and apprehensive, with which his future fate was contem- 
plated. Thus far the reasonable, the prudent, the commend- 
able, had predominated in the life of the prince ; but now an 
unhappy episode commences in his history, in which the ab- 
surd, the ridiculous, and the unfortunate, fill up the chief 
measure, and give the main coloring, to his career. We 
have now arrived at the memorable farce and the laughable 
escapade of Strasburg, whose origin, progress, and termina- 
tion, form one of the most ludicrous and anomalous scenes 
presented in history. 

The state of France at that moment was peculiar. The 
prevalent feeling was one of disappointment and contempt 
for the government of the selfish, avaricious, and perfidious 
Louis Philippe. The great mass of the nation were filled with 
regret that they had approved the Revolution of July, which 
placed him on an undeserved and now tarnished throne. The 
small party of the Legitimists regarded the public dissatis- 
faction with favor ; because they were waiting for an oppor- 
tunity to promote the reviving hopes of the Bourbon family. 
The national suffrage had become a mere mockery. Among 
the thirty millions of Frenchmen, scarcely a quarter of a mil- 
lion of electors deposited their ballots. Louis Philippe, 
''the citizen king," had created a vast number of petty 
offices, which he had filled with his obsequious tools ; and 
their agency at the polls rendered the national will a nullity. 
The prejudices and hatreds which had once existed against 
the first Napoleon, had, with the lapse of time, in a very 
great measure passed away ; and the remembrance of his 
ancient glory began to resume its resistless sway over the 
minds of a martial and chivalrous nation. The statue of the 
dead Emperor had been restored to the summit of the pillar 
in the Place Vendome ; the magnificent triumphal ^rc de 
VEtoile was in progress of rapid completion ; already the 
project of removing the ashes of the mighty conqueror from 



66 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

their ocean-bed at St. Helena, to the banks of the Seine, and 
among the French people whom he loved so well, was agi- 
tated and discussed ; and thus while Louis Philippe absurdly 
hoped to surround himself with perpetual glories borrowed 
from the brow of Napoleon, he unconsciously increased the 
disgust of the nation at his own inferiority, and revived their 
admiration for the departed hero. This state of things natu- 
rally led to the revival of the hopes of the partizans of his 
family, and of his representatives. Every day Louis Philippe 
was transforming his government more and more into an un- 
principled despotism, in violation of every dictate of honor, 
honesty, and patriotism. The house of Orleans was in truth 
rapidly descending from its once high estate, to the ignoble 
purpose and occupation of filling their money-bags, of marry- 
ing their debauched sons to the daughters of royal houses, 
and of promoting their most selfish personal aims, at the 
sacrifice of the liberties and dignity of the nation. 

From 1830 till 1848, the whole reign of Louis Philippe 
was a continued attempt on his part, by intriguing, evading, 
manoeuvring, and lying, to perform as little as was possible 
of all the solemn promises and sonorous professions, with 
which he ascended the throne. The most sordid, grovelling, 
perfidious, and disgraceful reign which has ever occurred 
during the whole progress of French history, taking all things 
calmly into consideration, was the reign of Louis Philippe. 
Its symbol should have been, and should forever continue to 
be, a full money-bag surrounded by a chain ! 

It was not singular that, while this reign was becoming 
the object of the hatred of the nation, and of the contempt 
of Europe, Louis Napoleon should, with his eyes vigilantly 
fixed upon his native land, perceive the progress and ten- 
dency of public opinion. His partizans throughout France 
now earnestly assured him, and that with singular unanimity, 
that the propitious period was approaching when he should 
proclaim his aims and purposes, should assume the lead in 
the expression of public sentiment, should ofier himself to 



OF NAPOLEON III. 6^ 

the nation as their chief, and should overthrow the existing 
government. 

Louis Napoleon was still residing at Arenemberg, when 
he himself believed the critical moment for the execution of 
his designs had arrived. It is highly probable that Queen 
Hortense both knew and approved of his plans. She still 
intensely yearned to see her darling and only son seated on 
the majestic throne of the fallen Emperor. Her conduct, 
when the prince left the Castle of Arenemberg under the pre- 
text of a hunting expedition into the principality of Hec- 
kingen, but really for the purpose of proceeding to Baden- 
Baden, and thence to Strasburg, was not such as comported 
with the innocence and security of his alleged destination. 
She displayed intense emotion. Siie threw her arms around 
his neck, and repeatedly embraced him. She wept profusely ; 
and as her son at last was about to depart, she solemnly placed 
upon his finger the marriage ring of Napoleon and Josephine, 
both as a talisman of future safety, and as a memento of past 
glory. 

The prince arrived at Baden-Baden, and an incident there 
occurred which threw an air of romance around his fortunes, 
and pleasingly contrasted with the general gloom and cheer- 
lessness of his impending fate. It was here that he first met 
the lady known as Madame Gordon. This person was the 
daughter of a former captain in the Imperial army, who had 
followed the vicissitudes and witnessed the glory of the elder 
Napoleon throughout his whole career. Her mind had been 
early stored with legends of the Empire, and her youthful 
admiration had been profoundly enlisted in behalf of the 
great Corsican. At the period of which we now write, she 
was young, very beautiful, and full of bewitching arte and 
coquetry. Thrown at an early age upon the world, she had 
adopted the profession of a public singer as a means of sub- 
sistence ; while, at the same time, the charms not only of her 
exquisite voice, but also of her beautiful face and person, were 
rendered tributary to the task of ministering both to her sup- 



58 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

port, and to her fondness for dissipation and luxury. She had 
had many intrigues ; but they were always with the wealthy and 
the noble. Passing lightly from one amorous connection to 
another, as caprice or interest dictated, her life had not been 
devoid of deep romance. Among her various lovers, the last 
was one of the most distinguished and active partisans of the 
Bonapartist cause; who, in a moment either of excessive 
carelessness or intense affection, had revealed to her the con- 
templated plan of Louis JN'apoleon, to assail and overthrow 
the existing government. Devotedly attached to the name 
and family of Napoleon, Madame Gordon became deeply 
interested in favor of the young adventurer. She immediately 
journeyed to Arenemberg, but arrived there on the very day 
on which Louis Napoleon departed for Baden-Baden. She 
instantly followed him to that retreat, ascertained the place 
of his temporary abode, obtained an interview with him, in- 
formed him of the fact that she had been initiated into the 
plot, declared her ardent devotion to his person and his 
cause, and offered to serve him to the utmost of her ability. 

That offer was gladly accepted. Love and ambition both 
plead powerfully in behalf of the fair devotee; and both 
seemed compatible with the interests and the tastes of the 
prince. By means of Madame Gordon's intelligence and 
beauty he opened direct communications with the officers of 
the regiments then stationed in Strasburg. She possessed 
arguments adapted to the passions of all. To the aged she 
presented the thrilling souvenirs of the Empire, and those 
triumphant and glorious scenes in which they had participated ; 
to the avaricious she offered immense riches ; to the ambitious 
she hel-d forth the glittering meed of glory ; to the discontented 
the soothing solace of revenge ; and to the chivalrous and 
gallant, the potent blandishments of love. It was not strange 
that with such an emissary, assisted by others of a diflfe'rent 
character, a sufficient number of the officers of Strasburg 
should have been corrupted, to have induced the prince to 
suppose that the remainder would be easily won over to his 



OP NAPOLEON III. 59 

cause after the public demonstration in his favor had been 
began, 

A few weeks having been spent by Louis Napoleon at 
Baden-Baden, devoted to the fascinating society of Madame 
Gordon, and to his intrigues with his partizans and emissaries 
in Strasburg, he secretly proceeded on the 30th of October, 
1836, to that city. He was accompanied by that lady, to 
whom, in this important emergency, he entrusted his papers 
and effects. He repaired first to the house of M. Persigny, 
where he remained concealed during the day. When night 
arrived, he proceeded to another house in a distant part of 
the city, in the Rue Fontaine, in the basement of which all 
the conspirators were to assemble at an appointed hour. The 
weather was cold, but a bright autumnal moon illumined the 
ancient and narrow streets of the city. The conspirators, to 
the number of thirty-five, remained in consultation during the 
night, intending to strike the decisive blow at six o'clock on 
the ensuing morning. 

During the night the prince arranged with Colonel Van- 
drey, the chief conspirator, the plan of the next day's pro- 
ceedings. The Colonel said to him : " There is no question 
here of a conflict of arms ; your cause is too French and too 
pure, to pollute it with the effusion of blood. There is only 
one way for you to act, which will be worthy of you. When 
you are at the head of my regiment we will march together 
to the residence of General Yoirol, we will show him the im- 
perial eagle, and he will be persuaded that the whole garrison 
is in our favor, and will join us. " During the tedious progress 
of the night the deliberations of the conspirators were inter- 
rupted by the inquiries and apprehensions of the lodgers in 
the upper part of the house, who became alarmed by the 
mysterious and unusual noises which the conversation and 
movements of so many persons inevitably made. Silence was 
again commanded, and the people fortunately retired to their 
beds. 

At length, when morning dawned, the bells in the great 



60 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

tower of the Cathedral solemnly tolled forth the hour of six ; 
and the impressive sound striking on the expectant ears of the 
conspirators, summoned them to their task of glory or of 
ruin. They emerged into the streets and proceeded toward 
the barracks of the artillery. Having arrived there in com- 
pany with M. Pasquin, Louis Napoleon, who had assumed | 
the uniform of a brigadier-general, found the fourth regiment 
of artillery, of which Colonel Yaudrey was the commandant, 
drawn out in the open space before their cantonments. The 
colonel stood alone in the middle of the yard. Louis Napo- 
leon proceeded immediately to join him. The colonel then 
drew his sword, and exclaimed to the soldiers : " Behold the 
nephew of Napoleon ! A great revolution is being accom- 
plished at this moment. The nephew of Napoleon, his heir 
and representative, comes to reconquer the rights of the people. 
It is around him that all who love the glory and libertv of 
France, should rally. Soldiers ! you must feel, as I do, all 
the grandeur of the enterprise in which you are about to 
engage, all the sacredness of the cause which you are about 
to defend. Can the nephew of the great Napoleon rely upon 
your fidelity ?" 

The soldiers responded to this speech with as much enthu- 
siasm as could reasonably be expected on a cold autumnal 
morning; while Louis Napoleon himself, boldly facing the 
regiment, tried his best to look as much as possible like the 
"Nephew of his Uncle !" He then spoke as follows : " Re- 
solved to conquer or die for the cause of the French people, 
it is to you that I wish to present myself in the first instance, 
because between us there exists great and thrilling recollec- 
tions. It was in your regiment that my uncle served as cap- 
tain ; with you he fought at the siege of Toulon ; and it was 
your brave regiment which first received him at Grenoble on 
his return from Elba. Soldiers ! new destinies are in store 
for you ! To you is offered the honor of commencing a great 
enterprize ! You will have the glory of being the first to 
salute the eagle of Austerlitz !" 



OFNAPOLEONIII. '61 

At this crisis, the prince, receiving the eagle from M. de 
Querelle, one of his confederate officers, held it forth at arm's 
length toward the regiment, and exclaimed: "Behold the 
symbol of the glory of France ! It is destined to become the 
emblem of liberty ! For fifteen years it led our fathers to 
victory ; it glittered on all the battle-fieids, and in all the 
capitals of Europe. Will you now rally around it, and march 
with me against the traitors and oppressors of our country ? 
Vive la France! Vive la Liberie P^ And once more, in re- 
sponse, a reasonable number of soldiers shouted out : "Fi'ue 
Napoleon! Vive V Empereur !^^ 

Having thus assured himself of the attachment of the fourth 
regiment of artillery, the next object of the prince was to 
repair to the quarters of the commandant of all the military 
forces in Strasburg, General Yoirol, in order to win him over 
to his cause. On his way thither, it was necessary for the 
prince to traverse a considerable distance, and during his 
progress he sent an officer, with a company of men, to the 
printers, to prepare and publish his proclamation. He sent 
other detachments to arrest the prefect of the city, and to per- 
form several important commissions. At length the prince 
and his friends arrived at the residence of General Yoirol. 
The commandant was still in bed. He refused to admit his 
visitors, and Louis Napoleon, Yaudrey, Pasquin, and two 
other officers, ascended to his room and broke open the door. 
On being thus assailed, Yoirol gazed with mingled astonish- 
ment and terror upon the intruders. The prince, approaching 
him and holding toward him the eagle of Austerlitz, ex- 
claimed : " General, I approach you as a friend. I would be 
sorry to raise our old tri-color without the assistance of a 
brave soldier like you. The garrison is in my favor; decide, 
and follow me !" But the old general caught none of the 
enthusiasm of the prince. Sitting up in bed, he began tp 
read him a severe lecture, which, to the prince, was both in- 
opportune and disagreeable. Said he: "You have been 
wofully deceived. The army knows its duty, and of this you 
6 



62 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

will soon be convinced. Your undertaking is hopeless, your 
attempt is criminal, and will end only in your ruin. I adjure 
you to go no farther." 

The prince was naturally disgusted at such unwelcome 
advice as this, turned on his heel, ordered a file of his soldiers 
to arrest and guard the general, and hastened, with consider- 
able abatement of enthusiasm, to execute the rest of his pro- 
gramme. He directed his steps toward the barrack of Fink- 
matt, in order to secure the allegiance of the regiments 
quartered there. Having arrived, the soldiers crowded 
around the prince, more from curiosity than from any other 
motive ; and he began to harangue them. Some of them 
shouted Vive Napoleon! Vive VEmpereur! h\xii\iQm2L]0Y\ij 
of them said nothing. At this crisis an unfortunate incident 
occurred, which blasted the success of the enterprise, even 
though the battalion of the pontonniers, and the third regi- 
ment of artillery were marching to join the prince, having 
been won over by the arguments of their officers. Colonel 
Taillander, being among the disaffected, raised the shout that 
the alleged Prince Napoleon was not he, but a nephew of 
Colonel Yaudrey. " I know him well," said he, "for I have 
studied with him." This revelation, coming at such a time 
and in such a manner, produced an electrical effect on the 
soldiers. The pretender was immediately greeted with 
loud jeers and laughter ; and instantly, the romance, the 
glory, and the success of the enterprise were at an end. Louis 
Napoleon tried in vain to speak to the malcontents. Tail- 
lander ordered the gates to be closed, and the drums to beat. 
In vain the desperate prince demanded to be heard. His 
screams and violent gesticulations were only as a dumb show 
to the astounded and diverted lookers on ;. while each moment 
the confusion continued to increase. Muskets were discharged, 
swords flashed in the air, the cannoneers arrested infantry 
officers, and the infantry in turn arrested officers of artillery. 
A general melee ensued in the space before the barracks, during 



OF NAPOLEON III. 63 

which the prince, seeing his case becoming desperate, in vain 
besought one of the artillery-men to lend him his horse, with 
which to escape ; and he came very near being crushed to 
death under the feet of horses and men. The confusion sub- 
sided as soon as the prince and his attendants were all 
arrested. They were immediately taken to the guard-room 
and confined. The disaffected regiment, covered with shame, 
returned quietly to their quarters ; and thus ended in igno- 
minious failure and disgrace, the memorable conspiracy of 
Strasburg. 

A few moments after the arrest and imprisonment of the 
prince, General Yoirol entered, who greeted him with the 
remark that he had found but one traitor in the army, mean- 
ing Colonel Yaudrey. Louis Napoleon responded: "Say 
rather, general, that I have found a Labedoyere;" and he 
assured him that he should interest himself for the Colonel's 
children, because it was through that officer's regard for 
General Yoirol, and the waste of time spent in parleying with 
him, that the failure of the enterprise was in some measure 
to be attributed. 

In a few hours the prince was removed to the prison of 
Strasburg, and subjected to a formal examination. He was 
asked what had induced him to conspire against the govern- 
ment. He responded that his political opinions, and a desire 
to reside again in his own country, from which he had been 
unjustly exiled, were his motives. When asked whether he 
had intended to establish a military government, he answered, 
that he desired a government based on popular election. He 
declared that his first step would have been to assemble a 
National Congress, and thus appeal to the nation for its sup- 
port. He insisted that the whole rigor of the law should fall 
upon himself, who was the sole originator and leader in the 
attempt ; from whom only any danger was to be apprehended. 

The unfortunate prince was then left alone in his dungeon, 
to indulge iu profound and useful " Beveries^^ on the vanity 



64 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

and instability of human grandeur ! He discovered, when 
too late, that he had acted very rashly in commencing deci- 
sive measures, as the legitimate heir and successor of the 
great Corsican, before the arrival of the appropriate junc- 
ture, without proper preparations, and probably by the use 
of means which are not wisely adapted to the accomplishment 
of the intended end, even if used at the most propitious 
time. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 65 



CHAPTER IV. 

Presence of Mind and Intrepidity of Madame Gordon — Her Trial and 
Acquittal — Her subsequent Fate — The Gratitude of Louis Napoleon 
— His Removal to Paris — Intercessions of Queen Hortense in his 
behalf — The Prince Banished — His Voyage to Rio Janeiro — His 
Arrival at New York — His Conduct in the United States — Letter 
from Hortense — His Return to Switzerland — Death of Hortense — 
Brochure of M. Persigny — Re-published by M. Laity — Letter of Louis 
Napoleon to Laity — Louis Philippe demands his Expulsion from 
Switzerland — The Cantons refuse — War threatened — Voluntary 
withdrawal of the Prince — He goes to England — Publishes his Idees 
Napoleoniennes — Gore House — The Countess of Blessington — Lord 
Eglinton — The Prince's Habits of Dissipation in London — His con- 
nection with Mrs. Howard — Her History and Career. 

The inhabitants of Strasburg learned almost at the same 
moment the outbreak of the conspiracy and its suppression. 
On the arrest of its chief, his principal confederates were also 
taken into custody, though confined in separate prisons. 
The devoted Madame Gordon had awaited in her apartments, 
with intense anxiety, the progress of the insurrection; and 
she soon received information of its total failure. She dis- 
played in this great crisis as much intrepidity as she had 
before exhibited adroitness and tact ; and instead of seeking 
her immediate safety in concealment or flight, she employed 
the precious moments in committing to the flames all the 
papers and memorials connected with the plot, which had 
been left in her keeping. This act of superior courage and 
sagacity on her part preserved many persons from ruin, and 
from the vengeance of the government of Louis Philippe. 
She had scarcely completed her generous task, when her 
apartment was entered by the police, and she herself con- 
veyed to prison. Her subsequent fate is interesting. At 
her trial she was acquitted, inasmuch as no evidence could be 
6* E 



66 PUBLIC ANDPRIVATE HISTORY 

found to implicate her. Her services were appreciated by 
Queen Hortense, whose grateful munificence she soon expe- 
rienced. The beautiful conspirator ever after remained 
devotedly attached to the person and the fortunes of the 
prince ; and during his subsequent wanderings and vicissi- 
tudes, she occasionally enjoyed his society. It may not be 
improper here to add, that both during his imprisonment and 
exile in after years, she often relieved his pecuniary necessi- 
ties ; and that, when he rose at length to imperial power and 
splendor, she was not forgotten. Colonel Yaudrey was also 
rewarded, and was appointed the Governor of the Hotel des 
Jnvalides, after the coup d^etat. Madame Gordon is said 
still to reside in Paris, under another name, in the enjoyment 
of all the opulence and luxury which the gratitude and ad- 
miration of the Emperor can bestow. Whenever the monarch 
can secretly escape from the heavy cares of empire, and from 
the lynx-eyed vigilance of Eugenie, his first retreat even yet, 
is to the sumptuous residence of the still pleasing and at- 
tractive Madame Gordon ; where wit, cheerfulness, luxury, 
and the thrilling reminiscences of the checkered past, present 
a welcome contrast to the gorgeous and stupid monotonies 
of the imperial court and palace. 

After a confinement of ten days in the castle of Strasburg, 
Louis Napoleon was informed that he was to be transferred 
to another prison. He was first taken to the hotel of the 
prefect, where he found two post-chaises in waiting. He was 
ordered to enter one, in company with M. Cuynat, commander 
of the gendarmerie of the Seine, and Lietenant Shiboulet ; 
while the other was filled with officers. They immediately 
started for Paris. During the journey, his attendants treated 
the captive prince with respect ; and they arrived at the capital 
on the 11th of November, at two o'clock in the morning. 

Immediately after the outbreak of the insurrection Queen 
Hortense, being informed of its failure, braved the prohibition 
which still excluded the Bonaparte family from the soil of 
Prance, and hastened to the presence of Louis Philippe. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 67 

She implored his clemency in behalf of her son with frantic 
earnestness ; and not in vain. She was able to point to the 
lenity of the fallen emperor toward the Duchess de Berry, 
on a former occasion ; and, under similar circumstances, Louis 
Philippe was convinced that policy itself commended the 
path of generosity, because he thought that, if he punished 
the prince severely or capitally, he would incense the great 
Napoleonic party in France ; whereas if he forgave, he would 
both conciliate them, and at the same time convince the na- 
tion that he regarded the attempt and the influence of the 
prince as too insigrdficant to deserve any serious penalty. 
Louis Philippe, accordingly, promised to deal gently with 
the hero of Strasburg, but only on certain conditions. One 
of these was that he should forever absent himself from 
France ; and the other, that he should renounce all claims 
and aspirations to the throne. The former condition the 
prince promised solemnly to fulfil ; the latter he adroitly 
evaded. What assurances Queen Hortense may have made 
in behalf of her son, it is impossible to say. He himself gave 
none, except a promise of perpetual exile from France. 

In pursuance of his sentence of banishment, the prince was 
conveyed to the citadel of Port Louis. Here he was detained 
ten days, waiting for a favorable wind. He was to be con- 
veyed to the United States in a French frigate. Before he 
set sail he wrote to M. Ban-ot, the distinguished Parisian 
advocate, requesting him to take charge of the defence of 
Colonel Yaudrey. He also wrote to Louis Philippe, asking 
his indulgence in behalf of his confederates in the insurrection, 
and declaring that the sole blame should rest with him, who 
had seduced them by glorious recollections, in a moment of 
excitement and confusion. It is doubtful whether these repre- 
sentations had any weight with the crafty and selfish monarch 
who -then governed the destinies of France. The offenders 
were brought to trial, but the jury acquitted them. 

This "mad affair of Strasburg" has always been regarded 
in different lights by different parties. The prevalent senti- 



68 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

raent throughout Europe in reference to it, has generally 
been unmixed ridicule and contempt. The press during many- 
months overflowed with innumerable satires and outbursts 
of derision. The movement was described as the absurd 
attempt of an obscure and unknown boy to imitate the memo- 
rable and triumphant return of Napoleon from Elba ; and, as 
a proof that the prince did not possess sagacity enough to 
see the difference between the two cases, they cited the several 
results. Perhaps the best excuse for Louis Napoleon on 
this occasion, will be found in the fact that, being excluded 
from the soil of France, he was readily deceived by his enthu- 
siastic emissaries in reference to the existing state of public 
opinion ; that he was led to believe that the whole nation was 
ready to rise at any instant, in support of his pretensions ; 
that Louis Philippe was then tottering on his throne ; and 
that the most propitious moment for action had already 
arrived. It cannot be denied that during the progress of the 
insurrection the conduct of the prince was not deficient either 
in energy, fortitude, or determination. The following extract 
from a letter, written by him after his departure from France, 
and addressed to M. Yillaud, explains his own views in refer- 
ence to the matter: ^'1 had two lines of conduct open to 
me : the one, which in some respects depended on myself ; 
the other, which depended on events. In deciding upon the 
former, I became, as you very truly say, a means ; in waiting 
for the other, I should only have been a resource. According 
to my views and my convictions, the first part appeared to 
me much preferable to the other. The success of ray project 
would offer to me the following advantages : I should have 
done in one day, and by a coup de main, the work of perhaps 
ten years : successful, I spared France the conflicts, the trou- 
bles, the disorders, attendant upon a state of general confu- 
sion, which must, I think, occur sooner or later. ' The 
spirit of a revolution,' M. Thiers observes, ' consists in an 
ardent passion for the object in view, and a hatred for those 
who oppose an obstacle to its attainment. ' Having led the 



OF NAPOLEON III. 69 

people with us, by means of the army, we should have had 
all the noble passions, without animosities ; for animosity only 
results from a conflict between physical force and moral force. 
For myself, my position would have been clear, simple, and 
easy. Having carried a revolution with the aid of fifteen 
persons, if I had arrived in Paris, I should have owed my 
success to the people only — not to any party : arriving there 
victorious I should, of my own free will, without being com- 
pelled to it, have laid down my sword upon the altar of my 
country ; and then they might well have confidence in me, 
for it was no longer my name alone, but my person, which 
became a guarantee for my conduct. In the other case sup- 
posed, I could only have been called upon by a fraction of 
the people ; I should have had as my enemies, not only a 
debilitated government, but a crowd of other parties, them- 
selves too, perhaps, of a national character."^ 

It was nearly a fortnight before the vessel which carried 
the adventurous prince and his uncertain fortunes passed 
through the channel, being detained by contrary winds. The 
commander was Captain Yilleneuve, and his orders were first 
to sail to Rio Janeiro, where the vessel was to be re- victualled, 
thence to proceed to the port of New York. The voyage to 
Brazil was, for the most part, a tranquil and pleasant one. 
On crossing the line the prince was exempted from the usual 
ceremonies in honor of Neptune, which are then performed. 
He passed his time chiefly in reading. On New Year's day 
all the officers of the vessel entered his cabin to compliment 
him with their good wishes. His thoughts, he tells us, re- 
verted with painful emotions to the castle of Arenemberg. 
He thus wrote to his mother on that day : '*I am fifteen hun- 
dred leagues away from you, in another hemisphere. Happily, 
thought traverses all this space in less than a second. And 
in thought I am near you : I express all my regrets for the 

* '■'■ Napoleon the Third; Review of his Life, Character, and Policy, S^'c.y 
hy a British Officer:" London, Longman ^ Co., 1857, p. 78. 



TO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

torments I have occasioned you ; I renew the expression of 
my tenderness and gratitude. This morning the officers came 
in a body to wish me a happy new year — an attention with 
which I was sensibly touched. At half past four we were at 
table ; as we are seventeen degrees west of Constance, it was 
at that time about seven o'clock at Arenemberg ; you were 
then, probably, also at dinner. In thought I drank your 
health ; perhaps you did the same towards me ; at least, I 
took pleasure in thinking so. I also thought of my com- 
panions in misfortune. Alas ! I am always thinking of them. 
I thought they were more unhappy than I, and this idea 
rendered me more unhappy even than themselves. ' 

"January 10. We have just arrived at Rio Janeiro. The 
coup d^oeil of the harbor is magnificent : to-morrow I shall 
make a sketch of it. I hope this letter will reach you soon. 
Do not think of coming to join me. I do not yet know where 
I shall settle ; perhaps I shall find more inducements to live 
in South America ; the labor to which, in order to create 
myself a position, the uncertainty of my fate will compel me, 
will be the only consolation I shall enjoy." 

Having at length arrived at New York, Louis Napoleon 
there found two of his cousins, Achille and Lucien Murat. 
One of these had just received the rank of colonel in the 
army of the United States, and the other held a lucrative 
civil appointment. Louis Napoleon, during his short stay in 
the land of Washington, employed himself in studying 
American politics, institutions, arts, and society. It has been 
asserted that his life now became the life of an abandoned 
debauchee ; that he was overwhelmed with want, and borrowed 
money from all his friends, which he never returned ; that he 
was even arrested for debt, and confined either in the Tombs 
or the Debtor's Prison in Eldridge street, in New York ; and 
that he acted in every way unworthy of his character and his 
hopes. It is probable that these stories are exaggerated, and 
that his conduct is confounded with that of some other mem- 
bers of the Bonaparte family, who have at different periods 



OF NAPOLEON III. Yl 

sojourned in the United States. It is not probable that he 
was poor, for Hortense possessed ample resources, and had 
opportunities of conveying funds to her son. 

It is nevertheless true, that the prince was fond of luxurious 
living, and indulged to some degree in dissipation during his 
residence in New York. Among his favorite places of resort 
was a public saloon which flourished at that period in Grand 
street, under the superintendence of an abandoned French 
woman, named Mercier. This place was frequented by the 
most dissipated adventurers in the city of both sexes, many 
of whom were natives of Europe. Among their number was 
a courtezan of more than ordinary beauty, a native of 
Bayonne, who was generally regarded ^s a Spanish Jewess. 
Her name was Josephine Ballabo ; and with her the young 
prince formed the only liaison with which he was reported to 
have been concerned during his short residence in the United 
States. He became attached in no small degree to the im- 
passioned and ardent Josephine ; and when at length he 
parted from her, it was with considerable regret. This event 
took place suddenly, in consequence of the reception by the 
prince of a letter from his mother, which induced him to 
return to Arenemberg. It was as follows : 

" I am about to undergo an operation which has become 
absolutely necessary. In case it should not terminate suc- 
cessfully, I send you, in this letter, my blessing. We shall 
meet again — shall we not — in a better world, where may you 
come to join me as late as possible ! And you will believe 
that, in quitting this world, I regret only leaving yourself, 
and your fond, affectionate disposition, which alone has given 
any charm to my existence. This will be a consolation for 
you, my dear friend — to reflect that, by your attentions, you 
have rendered your mother as happy as circumstances would 
allow her to be. You will think also of all my affection for 
you ; and this will inspire you with courage. Think upon 
this, that we shall always have a benevolent and distinct 
feeling for all that passes in this world below, and that, 



f2 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

assuredly, we shall all meet again. Reflect upon this con- 
solatory idea ; it is one which is too necessary not to be true. 
And that good Arese ! I send him my blessing as to a son. 
I press you to my heart, my dear friend. I am calm, per- 
fectly resigned ; and I would still hope that we may meet 
again, even in this world." 

Immediately on the receipt of this letter Louis Napoleon 
embarked for Europe, and arrived at Arenemberg in time to 
render the last offices of affection to his dying mother. After 
her death he continued to reside at Arenemberg ; but he was 
an object of great jealousy and mistrust to Louis Philippe. 
He was constantly surrounded by vigilant spies. At this 
period M. Persigny, ,one of his confederates in the affair of 
Strasburg, resided in England, and published a plain and 
truthful narrative of all the details connected with the con- 
spiracy, in answer to the innumerable libels and caricatures 
which were constantly printed and distributed. The brochure 
of M. Persigny was widely diffused, and many copies were 
conveyed into France ; and M. Laity, another partizan of 
the prince, undertook to republish it even in Paris. This 
bold proceeding at once brought upon him the vengeance of 
the government. Laity was arrested, tried, convicted, and 
sentenced, for an attempt against the peace and safety of the 
state. 

During the progress of this trial Louis Napoleon wrote a 
long letter to M. Laity, in which he commends his conduct, 
justifies his publication, and consoles him for his misfortunes. 
In the course of this letter he says : " But if, at some future 
day, parties overthrow the present government, (and the ex- 
ample of the last fifty years permits us such a supposition,) 
and if, accustomed as they have been, for twenty-three years, 
to despise authority, they undermine all the bases of the social 
edifice, then perhaps the name of Napoleon would prove an 
anchor of safety for all that is generous and really patriotic 
in Prance." This declaration was too distinct and unequivo- 
cal to be misunderstood. It clearly indicated that the prince 



OF NAPOLEON III. fg 

still proposed and anticipated the overthrow of the Orleans 
dynasty, at some future and more propitious period. 

The result was, that Louis Philippe immediately demanded 
from the Swiss government, the expulsion of the prince from 
their territory, on the ground that he had solemnly promised 
to remain in America for ten years, that he had violated his en- 
gagements, and that he was then plotting against the security 
of the French government. The note addressed to the Helvetic 
Diet by the Duke of Montebello on behalf of Louis Philippe, 
set forth these facts, and contained this demand ; but the 
Cantons at once resisted the proposal on the ground that it 
was hostile to their independence. Louis Philippe ordered 
an armed demonstration to be made on the frontier to over- 
awe the Cantons. The latter were not dismayed, however, 
but soon assembled twenty thousand men to defend the in- 
tegrity and freedom of their native rocks and hills. An effu- 
sion of blood would doubtless have ensued, which the insig- 
nificance of the occasion would scarcely have justified, had 
not Louis Napoleon adroitly evaded the difficulty by volun- 
tarily withdrawing from the Swiss territory. He wrote a 
letter to the Landamann Anderwert, the president of the 
Council of Thurgovia, in which he announced his intention 
to withdraw, and added : " In leaving voluntarily at this time 
the only country in Europe where I have found support and 
protection, in departing from scenes which had become dear 
to me for so many reasons, I hope to prove to the Swiss 
people that I am worthy of the marks of esteem and affection 
which they have lavished upon me. I shall never forget the 
noble conduct of the Cantons that have spoken so boldly in 
my favor, and above all, the generous protection of the 
Canton of Thurgovia will forever remain deeply engraven on 
my heart. ' ' 

The policy of Louis Philippe in thus publicly demanding 

the expulsion of the prince from Switzerland, was the most 

short-sighted which could possibly have been pursued. 

Until that moment Louis Napoleon had been an adventurer, 

1 



t4 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

without claims, and without principles, and almost without 
partizans. The conduct of the French king at once gave 
him, in the eyes of the whole world, as well as in his own, an 
acknowledged importance. He had made an equal of the 
former despised refugee, in a great struggle, and in that 
struggle the prospect was that the monarch would have been 
ultimately defeated. The ancient and heroic spirit of Wil- 
liam Tell had been aroused and re-animated from the grave 
of centuries, and the struggle on the part of the Swiss in 
defence of their rights and territory, would doubtless have 
been desperate and protracted. 

These events took place in September, 1838. After the 
departure of the prince from Switzerland Louis Philippe re- 
called his armies, and exulted in the withdrawal of his foe, now 
for the first time really made important by his own folly ; the 
Swiss patriots returned to their watch-making, their chamois 
hunting in the lofty solitudes of the Upper Alps, and to their 
farming. Louis Napoleon, the single cause of all this ex- 
citement, quietly passed over to England, there to await in 
security, but with little probability of success, the advent of 
more propitious times. 

During his residence in England the prince assumed a new 
aspect. In suspending for a period the yearnings of ambi- 
tion, he seems to have appropriated the interval to the grati- 
fication of his passions. This is the portion of his career 
upon which it is least attractive to dwell, and which is most 
discreditable to his fame. For a time all his high, aspiring 
hopes, his assiduous studies and labors for his own improve- 
ment, even his personal character and self-respect, were ab- 
sorbed and lost in his devotion or abandonment to pleasure. 

His residence was at Carlton Terrace. During the first 
year of his abode in England he still devoted some time to 
study, and wrote and published his work entitled: " Des 
Idees Napoleoni^nnes,^^ or Thoughts on Napoleonism ; or, 
in other words, the establishment of the Napoleonic Dynasty 
and power in France. The purpose of this work will be 



OF NAPOLEON III. 75 

gathered from the following extract from his preface: "If 
the destiny promised me by my birth, had not been changed 
by events, nephew of the Emperor, I would have been one 
of the defenders of his throne, one of the propagators of his 
ideas ; I would have had the glory of being one of the pil- 
lars of his throne, or of dying in one of the squares of his 
guards, fighting for France. The Emperor is no more ; but 
his spirit is not dead. Deprived of the opportunity of de- 
fending his protecting power with the sword, I can at least 
try to defend his memory with the pen. To enlighten 
opinions by searching for the thought that presided over his 
lofty conceptions, to recall to men's minds the memory of his 
vast projects, — this is a task which still gratifies my heart 
and consoles me for exile. Fear of shocking contrary 
opinions shall not stay me ; ideas which are under the eegis 
of the greatest genius of modern times can be avowed with- 
out circumlocution ; they cannot vary with the thermometer 
of the political atmosphere." 

There is nothing either original or remarkable in this book, 
and it is in itself devoid of all interest, except that which is 
derived from the birth and subsequent career of its author. 
He asserts that the great object and aim of the first Napoleon 
was to guide France to liberty ! The absurdity of this de- 
claration will strike every one ; for there never existed a more 
powerful and resistless despotism in any country than that 
exercised by the hero of Austerlitz over the French people. 
So far as material splendor was concerned, he increased and 
diffused it. But so far as true liberty, both of word and 
action, was concerned, he crushed out its last glimmering 
spark. Such "liberty" as this, Napoleon III. may also be 
said to have bestowed on France in the largest and most 
abundant measure, since his assumption of the imperial 
purple. The publication of his Ideas on Napoleonism oc- 
cupied but a small portion of the prince's time and attention. 
A recent biographer, whose whole work is a tissue of 
perversions and flatteries of the prince, for which he was no 



•76 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

doubt handsomely rewarded, thus describes and endeavors to 
defend his conduct in England:^ "He studied us through 
ourselves, as well as through our literature, and by mingling 
in general society, observing men, women, thoughts, habits, 
and institutions, obtained in all probability a more intimate 
acquaintance with our real state and condition, than is pos- 
sessed by some of those who share in making our laws, and 
giving the tone to our policy, both domestic and external." 
The truth is, that the prince obtained just such an ac- 
quaintance with the British nation, as any intelligent de- 
bauchee might secure, who mingled intimately with all the 
more dissipated classes of society ; with voluptuous nobles, 
with polished adventurers, with horse-jockeys, gamblers, 
women of easy virtue, political desperadoes, foreign refugees, 
et id omne genus. The British aristocracy tolerated him in 
their society, because to this his birth and associations en- 
titled him. His most welcome haunt among them was at 
Gore House, the residence of the Countess of Blessington. 
This lady was celebrated for her beauty and her accomplish- 
ments, both of person and of intellect. Her saloons were 
frequented by the most polished, the most cultivated, and the 
most distinguished members of society. All the beau tnonde 
of the intellectual class constantly met at her residence. 
Lady Blessington herself had seen Queen Hortense and Louis 
Napoleon in Italy, in 1828. She had become much attached 
to the fallen queen, and felt an interest in the fortunes of her 
son, which ever after continued till her death. At Gore 
House, therefore, the prince was always a welcome guest, 
and there was thrown into the society of the most distin- 
guished personages of the time in England. 

' See ^'■Napoleon III., Review of his Life, Character, and Policy, hy a 
British Officer," London, 1857, p. 104. A careful reader of this book 
must come to the deliberate conclusion that it is nothing more than a 
State-paper, prepared and issued by the government of Louis Napoleon 
in his defence ; so utterly false, perverted, unfounded, and unfair, is 
almost every statement contained in it from beginning to end. 



OF NAPOLEON III. It 

In the summer of 1840, he was also invited by Lord 
Eglinton to attend the festivities of a grand tournament given 
by him at his castle in Scotland. The queen of beauty on 
that occasion was Lady Seymour. The appearance which 
he made among the splendid and opulent nobility who were 
there congregated, was not deficient in elegance and taste. 
But he won no prizes in the lists. 

While such occasional intercourse with the highest rank of 
British society adorned his career and residence in England, 
it must be admitted that its general character was much less 
commendable. It may be that the agony of "hope deferred" 
may have at length rendered him desperate, and indifferent 
to public opinion. Certain it is, that in London he now led 
the life of a dissipated adventurer. He visited the most 
celebrated gambling-houses in the metropolis. He betted on 
the horse-racing at New-Market. He was a frequenter of 
the most fashionable houses of prostitution, and spent days 
and nights in their drunken, licentious, and boisterous orgies. 
It was in one of these resorts that he first met a woman 
whose name has since been publicly associated with his own, 
and whom, therefore, it is proper that the pen of history 
should notice. During the darkest and most desperate period 
of his career in London, Louis Napoleon was indebted to 
Mrs. Howard, not only for the solace of her love and attach- 
ment, but also for the means of subsistence. When he first 
became acquainted with her, his pecuniary resources had be- 
come exhausted, and he was living in straitened circumstances, 
Mrs. Howard was a woman of great talent and beauty, and 
])ossessed considerable romance of character. The career 
and family connections of the needy prince charmed her fancy, 
and she was flattered with the idea of becoming both his pro- 
tector, his clier amie, and his partisan. 

This remarkable woman deserves a word of passing de- 
scription. If the sketches of her career which have been 
published are to be believed, she almost deserves the title of 
the Ninon de PEnclos of the present century. It is said that 



T8 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

she was born in Yorkshire, the daughter of a small English 
farmer. Her youth was passed in the simple and healthy 
pursuits which naturally engrossed her attention ; while the 
very superior personal charms which nature had bestowed 
upon her, were ripened and developed by the fresh air, the 
vigorous exercise, and the nourishing food of her native fields. 
She received the usual amount of elementary instruction which 
falls to the lot of farmers' children in England ; but she pos- 
sessed what was of much more importance to her than mere 
book-learning, — great natural intelligence, an agreeable and 
vivacious wit, womanly adroitness and craft, together with 
more than ordinary resolution and determination of purpose. 
At the age of seventeen she met, at a neighboring fair, a 
handsome young English nobleman, whose fancy was imme- 
diately taken by her superior beauty, by the natural ease and 
gracefulness which she possessed, and by her pleasing vivacity. 
He promised her the enjoyment of wealth, luxury, and splen- 
dor in the capital. He pictured to her imagination scenes 
of pleasure and indulgence, which the simplicity and poverty 
of her native hills rendered impossible ; and he plead beside 
all this, the ardor of his own love. The fair young girl was 
flattered and attracted by the protestations of the youth, and 
after some hesitation, resigned herself to his wishes. He 
returned with her to London, took apartments for her there, 
and during some months he seemed entirely devoted to his 
beautiful rural conquest. The rest of the history of this 
woman is but a repetition of the vicissitudes which usually 
befall the victims and the votaries of vice. Deserted in the 
course of a year by her first love, Mrs. Howard was thrown 
upon the world. She had made the acquaintance of several 
nobleman to whom the soi-disant Colonel Howard had intro- 
duced her during the period of their intimacy. To these she 
now applied for assistance, nor was the application in vain. 
She was still in the first blush of her beauty, still young, still 
gay, still fond of pleasure ; and what was now of more im- 
portance to her, she had aptly learned from her seducer the airs 



OF NAPOLEON III. 79 

and manners of aristocratic and polished life, which served con- 
siderably to enhance her charms. Like Mrs. Gordon, she 
passed, with the progress of time, from one admirer to another. 
Sometimes she lived in luxurious and lavish opulence ; some- 
times she was straitened for the most necessary means. Her 
chief impediment to uniform prosperity in her precarious and 
discreditable course of life, was the ardor and impetuosity of 
her temper. She ruled her lovers with a rod of iron ; and 
her supremacy usually ended after a period of amorous 
attachment, in the breaking of those chains which she invari- 
ably rendered too heavy, even though they might have been 
gilded. Her last lover was a young nobleman, who had, on 
dissolving his connection with her, made her the mistress of 
an establishment of a sumptuous but questionable character in 
the metropolis ; and it was while thus situated that she formed 
the acquaintance of the penniless aspirer to the ancient throne 
of the Bourbons. 



80 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



CHAPTER V. 

Louis Napoleon in England — Insurrection of Barbes — False Opinions 
as to the State of Feeling in France — The Affair of Boulogne — 
Want of Organization and Preparation in France — Louis Napoleon 
and his Friends embark on the " City of Edinburgh" — Their Arrival 
on the Coast of France — They disembark — Proclamation to the 
Soldiers — Attempt to corrupt the Garrison of Boulogne — Partial 
Success — Subequent Failure — Arrest of Louis Napoleon and his 
Associates — Colonel Puygillier — Trial of the Conspirators — Evi- 
dence against them — Eloquence of Counsel, Berryer and Ferdinand 
Barrot — Conviction of the Prisoners — Their Sentence — Louis Na- 
poleon condemned to Imprisonment for Life — Fortress of Ham — 
Prevalent Opinions in reference to the Affair of Boulogne — Its pecu- 
liar Error — Its advantageous Results on the subsequent Fate of Louis 
Napoleon. 

Although Louis Napoleon had in a great measure aban- 
doned himself, as far as his limited means enabled him so to 
do, to a life of pleasure, during his residence in England, yet 
he did not wholly forget his former political aspirations. 
Ambition was not yet dead within him ; though adverse cir- 
cumstances, and probably the death of his mother, had for a 
time weakened its power over his mind. He was constantly 
associated in London with many Frenchmen, who from time 
to time assured him of the growing dissatisfaction of the 
French nation with their imbecile and perfidious king. The 
insurrection of Barbes, which took place in May, 1839, was 
a spark which emanated from the great volcano which burned 
with suppressed, but growing, fury beneath the throne of 
Louis Philippe ; and that insurrection was a proof of the 
general state of public feeling and discontent. Louis Napoleon 
was charged with having instigated the movement of Barbes ; 
but that charge was false. He denied the imputation in the 
public press; and said, with considerable assumption of heroic 



OF NAPOLEON III. gl 

valor : " If I were the soul of a conspiracy, I should also be 
the leader of it in the day of danger. I should not deny it, 
after its defeat. " 

But Louis Napoleon began to weary of his obscure life in 
London, of his insignificant associations and pursuits, of his 
midnight dissipations, and even of the voluptuous, though 
tyrannical, supremacy of Mrs. Howard. Some of the despe- 
rate French refugees then residing in the English capital, suc- 
ceeded in persuading the prince, that a particularly favorable 
period had arrived for the assertion of his claims ; and that if 
he then showed himself in France the whole nation would rise 
en masse in his favor, would hurry him to the summit of 
power, and forever expel, perhaps even destroy, the hated 
Orleans race. It is singular that a man possessing ordinary 
sagacity should have been so easily misled, both as to the 
state of France, and as to the means necessary to overthrow 
the government. There was then no organization or prepara- 
tion made for Louis Napoleon's reception. There was no body 
of men with whom a correspondence had been carried on, and 
who were prepared to second and complete the movement on 
the arrival of the Pretender. Everybody was to be taken by 
surprise. Neither soldiers, nor officers, nor citizens, were to 
greet his presence by any preconcerted movement. And if 
the affair of Strasburg had been badly managed, the affair of 
Boulogne was about to be infinitely worse. In the former 
instance there had been concert of action, a pre-organization 
of assisting and confluent forces, a definite and prudent pro- 
gramme of anticipated events, which were to be consecutively 
brought about and executed. ^ 



1 It is probable that the strongest and most conclusive consideration, 
which misled Louis Napoleon as to the propriety of his moving at that 
time was, that a law had recently passed the Chambers in favor of 
bringing the remains of the great Napoleon from St. Helena to Paris ; 
and because the proposition was greeted with applause by the whole 
French nation and by the press. The Prince de Joinville had been 
appointed to the command of the frigate La Belle Foule, in order to 
execute the project. 

F 



82 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

But in the Boulogne movement there was nothing of all 
this. A desperate adventurer was about to throw himself 
upon an astonished nation of thirty millions of people, whose 
government had already condemned him ; while in addition 
to this, his entry upon their forbidden soil was for the pur- 
pose of committing an act for which the law would sentence 
him to death. In a word, Louis Napoleon was about to 
attempt the overthrow of the existing government of France, 
without an army, without confederates, without any personal 
character or popularity to aid him, attended only by fifty 
nameless adventurers, as desperate and as imbecile as him- 
self! Such was the real character of the most absurd and 
preposterous movement ever undertaken, either in ancient or 
modern times. It is not strange that it ended in ignominious 
failure, and that it covered the prince with a universal flood 
of ridicule and contempt. 

The necessary means for this expedition were raised in 
London by borrowing money at exorbitant rates from Jews, 
stock-jobbers, and speculators. The steam-frigate " City of 
Edinburg" was chartered for the occasion, and she was 
amply supplied with arms, ammunition, liquors, together 
with a live eagle, which was intended to represent the victo- 
rious bird of the Empire. On the 6th of August, 1840, the 
adventurers embarked at London ; and the utmost convi- 
viality prevailed on board during their progress down the 
Channel. In fact, a very large proportion of them became 
completely intoxicated. At length, having approached the 
coast of France near Boulogne, an officer of the customs named 
Audinet discovered the mysterious vessel when about a mile 
from shore. At first, he thought it was an English steamer 
waiting for dispatches. But when the officer perceived a 
boat full of passengers detach itself from the vessel and row 
toward the shore, he hastened to the spot where they were 
about to land, and hailed them. They answered that they 
were soldiers of the fortieth regiment of the line, that they were 



OF NAPOLEON III. 83 

proceeding from Dunkirk to Cherbourg, and wished to land 
to repair the broken wheel of their frigate. 

The ofl&cer was satisfied with this story, and made no fur- 
ther opposition. Fifteen soldiers immediately landed, the 
boat then returned to the steamer, and making three succes- 
sive voyages, conveyed the whole party to the shore. During 
the landing, four men who came from Boulogne, were greeted 
by the conspirators as friends, and were immediately invested 
with the uniforms of officers. This was the extent of the 
preparation which had been made to receive and support the 
prince. By this time. Bally, lieutenant of the customs at 
Boulogne, had been informed of the arrival of the vessel ; 
and he supposed that it was an attempt to evade the sanitary 
laws. He hastened from Boulogne to investigate the matter. 
As he approached Yimereux, a village in the close vicinity 
of the spot where the landing took place,, he was arrested by 
the officers of Louis Napoleon, and compelled to accompany 
them back to Boulogne. He was then also informed of the 
nature of the movement, and was invited to join the con- 
spirators, who assured him that in a few days the prince 
would be the absolute sovereign of France. But the as- 
tonished Bally remained incredulous, declined the offer, and 
indignantly refused a handful of gold which was tendered 
him. Yet was he compelled to lead the way for the detested 
rabble toward the gate of the grand rue of Boulogne. As 
they approached, they did their best to shout Yive I'Empe- 
reur ; and they cast loose from time to time the live eagle which 
they carried with them, drawing him back again by means of 
the cord attached ignominiously to his talons, whenever his 
flight threatened to be too ambitious. Soon the company ap- 
proached the barracks of the forty-second regiment of the 
line, before which the principle demonstration was to be 
made. The conspirators were led oh by the prince, General 
Montholon, Colonel Yoison, Pasquin, and Persigny. Arriving 
at the quarters of the regiment, the prince drew from his 
pocket the following proclamation, and boldly read it : " Sol- 



84 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

diers ! France is made to command, and she obeys. You 
are the elite of the people, and you are treated like a vile 
herd. You are made to protect the national honor, and it 
is against your brothers that you turn your arras. Those 
who rule you would degrade the noble profession of soldier. 
You have been indignant, and have asked yourselves, 'What 
has become of the eagles of Areola, of Austerlitz, of Jena?' 
Here are those eagles ! I restore them to you : take them 
back : with them you shall have glory, honor, fortune, and 
what is more than all, the gratitude and esteem of your 
fellow-countrymen. 

"Soldiers! between you and me there are indissoluble 
ties : we have the same objects of hatred and love, the same 
interests and the same enemies. 

" Soldiers ! the mighty shadow of Napoleon speaks to you 
in my voice. Hasten, whilst it crosses the ocean, to send 
away those traitors and oppressors, and show him at his ar- 
rival that you are the worthy children of the Grand Army, 
and that you have resumed those sacred emblems which for 
twenty years appalled the enemies of France, amongst whom 
were those that are ruling you to-day. 
'' Soldiers ! to arms ! Vive la France f^^ 
This proclamation being read, a considerable number of 
the soldiers immediately shouted Vive Napoleon! Lieutenant 
Aladenize was particularly energetic at this crisis, and exerted 
himself to win over the soldiers, in which purpose he was, to 
some extent, successful. The next step was to induce the 
garrison of Boulogne to accompany the prince to St. Omer, 
and corrupt the troops there stationed. Had he succeeded 
in both of these purposes, the consequences might perhaps 
have been different. But at this critical moment the com- 
manding officer of the garrison. Colonel Puygillier, who had 
been attracted to the spot by the commotion, made his ap- 
pearance ; energetically denounced the prince and his con- 
federates ; ordered his men with the utmost ferocity to return 
to their quarters ; and thus succeeded in confounding and 



OP NAPOLEON III. 85 

eventually in destroying all the plans and the partial snccess 
of the conspirators. By this time, also, the civil authorities 
of Boulogne had received information of what had transpired, 
and they were rapidly assembling the National Guard. 
Colonel Puygillier at this moment peremptorily ordered the 
prince to leave the barracks, and the soldiers to drive out the 
conspirators. They obeyed. A general stampede then began 
on the part of the conspirators toward the shore, with the 
design of reaching the frigate, which still rode at anchor 
there. The soldiers, headed by Puygillier, followed them. 
It was a regular chase ; velocity of heels now became an 
affair of the first consequence ; but the advantage of numbers 
was in favor of the pursuers ; and at the column of Napoleon 
the fugitives were completely surrounded. The prince then 
exclaimed : "All is lost; there is nothing left but death V^ 
At the same moment he drew his pistol, fired at his assailants, 
and shot a grenadier. The fighting continued while the 
parties were approaching the shore. By this time a consider- 
able number had been wounded and killed on both sides. The 
prince himself was slightly wounded in two places, and two 
of his officers were shot dead at his side. At length the 
fugitives, notwithstanding their resistance, were all over- 
powered and captured. They were first taken to the castle 
of Boulogne ; the next day they commenced their journey 
toward Paris. 

Thus ended the famous affair of Boulogne, which resulted 
most disastrously to the fortunes, the reputation, and the 
prospects of the future emperor of the French. The frigate 
was soon captured by the custom-house officers, and one 
thousand muskets, together with a hundred thousand dollars, 
were found secreted on board. 

The excitement produced in Paris by the affair of Boulogne 

was considerable. Many persons were arrested in the capital 

whose attachment to the Bonaparte cause was known. Even 

harmless females fell beneath the vengeance of the government. 

8 



SB PUBLIC A N 1) PRIVATE HIST R Y 

Among these was Madame Salvage de Fogerolles, formerly 
maid of honor to Queen Hortense. 

On the 28th of September, Lom's Napoleon was arraigned 
for trial V^efore the Chamber of Peers. He was defended by 
M. Berryer, the distinguished Legitimist lawyer, who was 
celebrated both as a statesman and as an advocate. The 
evidence against the prince was perfectly conclusive. Beside 
the two proclamations which he had published to the soldiers 
and to the people of Boulogne, there were two others which 
were equally positive and unambiguous. These were addressed 
to the French people. One of these contains the following 
language : "What have those who govern you done to pos- 
sess any claim on your love ? They promised you peace, and 
they have Vjrought upon you civil commotions and the disas- 
trous war of Africa ; they promised a diminution of the taxes, 
and all the gold you possess would not glut their avidity ; 
they promised you a pure administration, and they reign only 
by corruption ; they promised you liberty, and they protect 
only privile^^es and abuses ; they promised you stability, and 
in ten years they have established nothing. In short, they 
promised to defend conscientiously our honor, our rights, our 
interests, and they have on all occasions sold our honor, 
abandoned our rights, betrayed our interests I It is time such 
iniquities should come to an end ; it is time to go and ask 
them what they have done with the grand, generous, unani- 
mous France of 1830 ! Farmers, they have laid on you during 
peace heavier taxes than Napoleon ever demanded during 
war. Manufacturers and merchants, your interests have been 
sacrificed to foreign exigencies; they use the gold in corrup- 
tion which the emperor employed to encourage your efforts 
and to enrich yourselves Finally, all you classes, industrious 
and poor, who are in France the refuge of all noble senti- 
ments, remember that it was amongst you Napoleon chose 
his lieutenants, his marshals, his ministers, his princes, his 
friends. Give me your support, and let us show the world 
that neither you nor I have degenerated- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 8Y 

" I entertained a hope, as did you, that without revolution 
we might be able to correct the evil influences of the govern- 
ment ; but to-day no more hope. In ten years they have 
changed the ministry ten times ; and they may change it ten 
times over again, and the grievances and the miseries of the 
country would still continue the same." 

Such language indicates the purpose of treason as clearly 
as language possibly can do. The Ottin proclamation was, 
however, still more explicit, and must have excited the deri- 
sion of the whole nation, from its astounding tone of arro- 
gance and confidence. 

" Prince Napoleon, in the name of the French people, de- 
crees as follows : 

"The dynasty of the Bourbons of Orleans has ceased to 
reign. 

" The French people have resumed their rights. The 
troops are released from their oath of allegiance. The 
Chamber of Peers and the Chamber of Deputies are dis- 
solved. 

" A National Congress shall be convoked on the arrival of 
Prince Napoleon at Paris. 

" M. Thiers, President of the Council, is appointed, at 
Paris, President of the Provisional G-overnment. 

"Marshal Clausel is appointed Commander-in-Chief of 
the troops assembled at Paris. 

" General Pajol preserves the command of the first military 
division. 

"All the commanders who will not immediately conform 
with his orders shall be removed. 

"All the officers, subalterns, and soldiers, who will ener- 
getically display their sympathy for the national cause shall 
be nobly recompensed in the name of their country. 

" God protect France ! " 

But the French people refused to permit the prince to 
"decree" in their name. They could decree for themselves 
without his assistance ! The specific charge made against 



88 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

the prince at this time was, that on the 6th of August, 1840, 
he made an attempt, commencing at Boulogne, to destroy 
or change the government, to excite the citizens to take up 
arms against the royal authority, and to kindle the flames of 
civil war. The Chancellor Pasquier was President. The 
government was represented by the Procurator-General Carre, 
assisted by the Attorney-General Bouchy, and the Deputies 
Nanquier and Glandaz. Against all these combined the 
ability and eloquence of M. Berryer was considered a suffi- 
cient counterpoise. 

During the course of the trial the prince was permitted to 
speak in his own defence. He addressed the Chamber of 
Peers, composed of a hundred and fifty members; and it 
was a remarkable circumstance that a large proportion of his 
judges were the former companions in arms or members of 
the household of Napoleon himself. During the progress of 
the interrogatories which were addressed to the prince by the 
chancellor, he did not deny that he had attempted to over- 
throw the government, but justified his acts by pleading his 
good intentions, and desire to promote the welfare of France. 
At the same time he refused to compromise any of his secret 
confederates. General Montholon, General Y oisin, MM. Lom- 
bard and Persigny, were also interrogated, with the same re- 
sult. The witnesses for the prosecution described all that had 
transpired at Boulogne. The testimony of Major Puygillier 
was most conclusive of all. After the examination of the 
witnesses for the government the procurator-general addressed 
the chamber. His task was an easy one ; for never was the 
truth of any charge more clearly evident. The speech of M. 
Berryer displayed great ability. Fully conscious of the des- 
perate nature of his client's position, who, if convicted, would 
probably be condemned to death, he put forth his utmost 
abilities. His oration was marked by the peculiarities which 
usually characterize French forensic efforts ; and had it been 
possible for the judges to have been deluded in reference to 
the nature of an act whose guilt was as clear as the light of 



OF NAPOLEON III. 89 

the noonday sun, he had done it. He assumed the position, 
that after the principle established in France by the events of 
1794, an appeal to the nation, calling upon it to declare its 
sentiments in reference to any existing or proposed govern- 
ment, was legitimate and not treasonable ; that this principle 
had been acted on by every government which had ruled 
France since the death of Louis XYI., and that such, and 
such only, was the basis and claim upon which the govern- 
ment of Louis Philippe itself rested. He concluded with 
an able argument to show that under such circumstances the 
attempt of Louis Napoleon was nothing more than a legiti- 
mate and justifiable appeal on his part to the French people, 
asking them to decide for themselves what their form of 
government in the future should be. Ferdinand Barrot de- 
fended the rest of the prisoners with great eloquence. After he 
had concluded, the procurator-general summed up the case. 
When he ceased, Louis Napoleon made a few remarks, and 
the trial terminated. The court required some time to delibe- 
rate. Three days afterward the sentence was made known upon 
which they had determined. Louis Napoleon was condemned 
to imprisonment for life in a fortress situated within the 
French territory ; Montholon, Pasquin, Lombard, and Per- 
signy, to twenty years' imprisonment ; Mesonan to fifteen 
years ; Dr. Conneau to five years ; and others to shorter pe- 
riods. Four only out of nearly fifty persons were acquitted. 
The fortress selected as the long home of the chief conspi- 
rator, was the Castle of Ham, situated in the province of 
Picardy in the department of Somme, ninety miles north-east 
from Paris. 

There can be but one opinion as to the extreme folly which 
characterized the conduct of Louis Napoleon in the affair of 
Boulogne. It has been urged in his defence that, like the 
attempt of Strasburg, it was forced upon him by the very 
necessities of his name, his nature, and his associations. 
Even if this position be granted ; even if it be conceded that 
his aspiring disposition, and the glory of the great name 
8* \ 



90 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

which he had inherited, urged him with irrepressible eager- 
ness to seek the possession of superior power, he should have 
acted with greater circumspection ; he should not have moved 
until the ramifications of his conspiracy extended throughout 
all France ; until that conspiracy had become formidable in 
influence and members ; and until it bore some proportion in 
its power and resources to the power and resources of the 
government which it attempted to overturn. The move- 
ment was ridiculous and merited contempt, because its or- 
ganization was such as to render its failure and the ruin of 
its agents, inevitable. The prince placed his life and for- 
tunes on the cast of a die, and the chances against him were 
a thousand to one. 

Louis Napoleon in after years himself severely condemned 
the enterprises both of Boulogne and Strasburg. In July, 
1849, he visited Ham, when President of France; and in 
the address which he then made to the municipal authorities 
of the town who received him, he said : '' To-day, as by the 
choice of universal France, I have become the legitimate 
chief of this great nation, I cannot glorify myself for a cap- 
tivity which was the result of an attack on a regular govern- 
ment. When we see how many evils even the most just re- 
volutions bring in their train, we hardly know what to make 
of the audacious man who takes on himself the terrible re- 
sponsibility of a change. I do not complain of having ex- 
piated here, by six years' imprisonment, a rash attempt against 
the laws of my native land." 

Such a concession does little credit to its author. He knew 
just as well in 1840, as in 1849, that his conspiracy was rash, 
that it must lead to great evils and miseries, and that he 
deserved a penalty much more severe than he had received. 

The attempts of Strasburg and Boulogne, though in both 
cases they covered their author with universal derision, and 
failed in accomplishing their intended object, may still be 
said to have been in some respects useful to the prospects of 
Louis Napoleon. They at least prevented him from being 



OF NAPOLEON III. 91 

forgotten both by the French people and by Europe. They 
gave him widely-extended notoriety. They even secured him 
what was of much more value, political consequence and im- 
portance. They caused his name and person to be recog- 
nized as the chief representatives of a great political prin- 
ciple and party, which, though not then sufficiently organized 
and consolidated as to render them successful in overturning the 
existing government in France, might possibly become so in 
the progress of time, and might occupy a place among the 
various vicissitudes to which the versatile, changeable, and 
excitable people of France were liable in the future. Viewed 
in this light, these ignominious failures were not entirely pre- 
judicial to the interests of their author. Their influence on 
the events of the Revolution of 1848 may have been decisive. 
The unchanging devotion of the prince to the cause which he 
represented, may have won the admiration of France, ever 
prone to the glorification of Napoleonism. Without these 
movements he might have been forgotten, and the cause 
might have suffered under the most ruinous of all disadvan- 
tages, — the supposed absence and want of a great leader. 
The French people were taught to believe that, if Louis 
Napoleon was rash, foolish and precipitate, he was at the 
same time brave, chivalrous, and constant to the triumph of 
a noble enterprise, and the glory of an immortal name. 



92 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



CHAPTER VI. 

Origin and History of the Fortress of Ham — Its situation and appear- 
ance — Louis Napoleon conveyed thither — His rigorous treatment — 
His Protest to the French Government — Removal of Napoleon's Re- 
mains from St. Helena — Louis Napoleon Writes and Publishes his 
" Historical Fragments ;" his Considerations sur la Question des Sucres ; 
his " Extinction of Pauperism" — The '■^ Canal Napoleon de Nicaragua" 
— The Prince desires to visit his Dying Father — The Request Re- 
fused — He determines to Escape from Ham — The Astuteness and 
Ability of the Plan adopted — The Prince's Costume — He Leaves his 
Prison and evades the Scrutiny of the Guards — Adroitness of Th^lan 
— The Prince reaches Valenciennes, Brussels, Ostend, England — The 
Skilful proceedings of Dr. Conneau — The Astonishment and Terror 
of the Commandant — The Prince refused Passports to Florence by 
the Tuscan Minister. 

The fortress of Ham, which was destined to be the abode 
of Louis Napoleon daring six long and cheerless years, is one 
of the most interesting monuments of mediaeval and feudal 
architecture in France. The name itself is probably derived 
or corrupted from the old Teutonic heim, signifying home; 
and the existence of the word can be traced as far back as 
the Frankish invasion. In the ninth century Ham was the 
capital of a small territory, known by the epithet Hamois. 
The founder of the family of Ham is supposed to have been 
Duke Simon, who lived in the latter portion of the tenth 
century. That family became extinct in the person of John 
lY., who died in 13*75. The lordship of Ham has belonged, 
during the progress of successive centuries, to many illustrious 
families, among which have been those of Luxemburg, 
D'Enghien, Rohan, Navarre, and Yendome. 

The fortress is surrounded by a town, which has been often 
taken and retaken during the many wars which have repeat- 
edly desolated the country. In 1411 it was captured and 



OF NAPOLEON III. 93 

burned by the Duke of Burgundy. Luxemburg reduced it 
in 1423. The battle of St. Quentin, in 155t, placed it in 
the possession of the Spaniards. It was restored again to 
France by the treaty of Cambresis in 1558. Some portions 
of this fortress are very ancient. A wall still remains which, 
for a thousand years, has resisted the countless shocks and 
storms of time. But the larger part of the present castle 
dates from the year 1470, when the Duke of Luxemburg, then 
Constable of France, reared it upon the foundations of the 
preceding structure. Its great tower ascends to the height 
of a hundred feet ; it is a hundred feet in diameter ; and it 
boasts of walls thirty feet in thickness. Its master, on its 
completion, inscribed upon its loftiest battlement the words : 
Mon Mieux, My Best ; as indicating the great confidence 
which he reposed in its strength and impregnability. Yet 
his boast was vain ; for he was shortly afterward delivered by 
a stratagem into the hands of his offended king, Louis XL , 
and beheaded on the Place de Greve. The chief purpose to 
which the fortress has been appropriated in modern times, is 
that of a state-prison. Its most recent occupants of distinc- 
tion, in addition to Louis Napoleon, have been Polignac, 
Peyronnet, and other ministers of Charles X., who, after the 
fall of their master in 1830 expiated within its walls some 
of their follies and their crimes. 

The appearance of this fortress forcibly reminds the intel- 
ligent observer of the distant times of feudal tyranny and 
splendor. Its lofty battlements ascend far above the summit 
of the eminence on which they repose. Its shape is square, 
and its four angles are flanked with immense towers. It has 
but one entrance, which is in the north-eastern wall, and this 
is protected by a strong square tower. The ramparts are 
washed on the southern and eastern sides by the canal of St. 
Quentin, and the river Somme. Within the quadrangle two 
brick buildings of modern date serve both as barracks and 
as prisons. One of the latter is a low, miserable edifice, 
which is entirely overshadowed by the massive walls of the 



94 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

battlements which surround it. Here it was that the dis- 
comfited hero of Strasburg and Boulogne was condemned to 
an imprisonment for life. 

On the 7th of October, 1840, at midnight, the prince was 
ordered to enter a carriage, and under the escort of a colonel 
of the Municipal Guards, he was conveyed from Paris to his 
destined prison. The apartments assigned him were those 
which had been previously occupied by M. de Polignac. 
They were in a dilapidated condition, the ceiling was full 
of holes, the floor was uneven and broken, the doors and 
windows were rotten and unfit to exclude the severity of the 
weather. Repairs were absolutely necessary, and the govern- 
ment of Louis Philippe, after very considerable hesitation and 
difficulty, became strangely liberal, and allowed the sum of a 
hundred and twenty dollars to be appropriated to the im- 
provement and embellishment of the abode of the representa- 
tive of Napoleon ! His daily expenses were fixed at the 
moderate sum of seven francs. M. Landenois, an officer 
whom the great Corsican had himself promoted at Montereau, 
regulated, and as much as possible curtailed the personal 
expenditure of the prince. The garrison consisted of four 
hundred men, sixty of whom were constantly on duty, watch- 
ing the exterior as well as the interior of the fortress. In 
addition to these there were a large number of doorkeepers, 
turnkeys, and guards, to whom the care of the prison was 
particularly entrusted. The commandant of the fortress was 
M. de Marie. This individual, though polite and courteous, 
was a most vigilant and inexorable disciplinarian. He treated 
his prisoner with great politeness, but at the same time did 
his best to prevent his escape. 

During the first few months of Louis Napoleon's captivity 
he was very closely and rigidly watched. He was allowed, 
at stated times, to walk on the ramparts through a space forty 
yards in length and twenty in breadth. During this interval 
he was attended by numerous sentinels at a distance, and a 
special keeper constantly followed him closely at his heels. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 95 

He was allowed to retain, as his valet de chamhre, his favorite 
body-servant, Charles Thelin, who had attended him during 
his whole life. This person was as closely imprisoned as 
if he himself had been condemned for some grave offence. 
The soldiers were forbidden, on pain of four days' confinement 
in the guard-house, to honor the prince with the military 
salute ; yet it deserves to be noted that sometimes they braved 
the threatened penalty, and not seldom the subdued sound of 
Vive VJEmpereurl was heard from their ranks. Strange as 
it may seem, the very same soldiers to whom the custody and 
defence of the fortress were then entrusted belonged to the 
forty-sixth regiment of the line, which had been present and 
had taken part in the conspiracy of Strasburg. 

But soon the fears which the government entertained of the 
man to whom they alone had given importance, became mag- 
nified, and the treatment which he received in his prison- 
house was more rigorous. To such an extreme was this 
severity carried, that it drew from Louis ^Napoleon a protest, 
in which he speaks as follows : 

"During the first months of my captivity every kind of 
communication from without was forbidden,, and within I was 
kept in the most rigorous confinement. Since, however, 
several persons have been admitted to communicate with me, 
these internal restrictions can have no longer an object ; and 
yet it is precisely since they have become useless that they are 
more rigorously enforced. 

* ' All the provisions for the supply of my daily wants are 
subjected to the most rigid scrutiny. 

" The attentions of my single faithful servant, who has been 
permitted to follow me, are encumbered with obstacles of 
every description. Such a system of terror has been established 
in the garrison and among the ofl&cers in the castle, that no 
individual dares raise his eyes towards me ; and it requires 
even extraordinary boldness to be commonly polite. 

''How can it be otherwise, when the simplest civility of 
look is regarded as a crime, and when all those who would 



96 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

wish to soften the rigors of my position, without failing in 
their duty, are threatened with being denounced to the autho- 
rities, and with losing their places. In the midst of this France, 
which the head of my family has made so great, I am treated 
like an excommunicated person in the thirteenth century. 
Every one flies at my approach, and all fear my touch, as if 
my breath were infectious. 

"This insulting inquisition, which pursues me into my very 
chamber, which follows my footsteps when I breathe the fresh 
air in a retired corner of the fort, is not limited to my person 
alone, but is extended even to my thoughts. My letters to 
my family, the effusions of my heart, are submitted to the 
strictest scrutiny." 

In consequence of this appeal some of the rigors of his 
captivity were softened. His valet, Thelin, was permitted to 
visit the town of Ham, and execute such commissions for his 
master as he might desire. The prince was allowed to receive 
the visits of those who wished to pay him their respects. 
Among these, on several occasions, it may be proper to 
mention, was the beautiful and heroic Madame Gordon, whose 
admiration of the prince and whose devotion to his cause, had 
not been diminished either by the lapse of time, or by the 
vicissitudes of fortune. 

The effect which confinement produced on the mind of 
Louis Napoleon, was a very beneficial one. It compelled 
him to revert to those habits of study which had formerly 
occupied him. He divided his time between writing, read- 
ing, gardening, and his exercises. After rising in the 
morning he studied till ten o'clock. Then he breakfasted. 
After breakfast he walked half an hour on the parapet of the 
fortress. Then he devoted some time to the cultivation of the 
flowers which he had planted in some earth along the ramparts. 
He thus thought himself another Picciola ; and was more for- 
tunate than that captive, because his flowers and vegetables 
were undisturbed by his jailors. After an hour spent in tend- 
ing his garden, he returned to his apartment, wrote letters, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 91 

studied and read until dinner. After dinner he engaged in 
conversation with his companions in captivity ; and the even- 
ing was passed in the game of whist, in which General Mon- 
tholon, Dr. Conneau, the prince, and the commandant of 
the fortress took part. It was amusing to see the brave 
and stern Cerberus who guarded with great severity and rigor 
every outlet of the castle during the day, after having locked 
up everybody and everything for the night, put his keys in 
his pocket, throw off his fierce visage, repair to the apartment 
of the prince, and spend the evening with him in the most 
cordial and friendly conviviality. 

On the 30th of November, 1840, the ashes of Napoleon 
touched the soil of France. On the 15th of the following 
month they were deposited with ceremonies of gorgeous mag- 
nificence, with martial and funereal splendor, beneath the 
sublime dome of the Hotel des Invalides. The Parisians 
were wild, as is their wont, with insane enthusiasm and rap- 
ture, without being able to give a rational cause or reason 
for their frenzy. In the solitude of his prison Louis Napoleon 
penned a rhapsody on the Emperor's return to France, which 
requires a very great stretch of poetical license to render 
either tolerable or intelligible. 

But the restless captive found his most congenial and satis- 
factory pursuits in study. He wrote occasional communi- 
cations for the Propagateur du Pas-de- Calais, a newspaper 
edited by his friend De George. In May, 1841, he pub- 
lished his " Historical Fragments. " The object of this work 
was to controvert the position assumed by M. Guizot in his 
History of the English Revolution, that there was a close 
and complete parallel between that Revolution in 1688, and 
the French Revolution of 1830 ; that William of Orange re- 
sembled Louis Philippe in his aims and purposes, and even 
in his character ; and that as the English consolidated their 
liberties by accepting and authorizing the foreign prince, so 
also would the French, by forever adhering to the younger 
and intrusive branch of the house of Bourbon. There never 
9 G 



98 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

was a greater absurdity uttered, than that defended in this 
parallel of Guizot. As was Hyperion to a satyr, such was 
William of Orange to Louis Philippe; and the task of 
Louis Napoleon in exposing the fallacy of the ridiculous 
and preposterous position of the minion of the money-bag 
king, was very easy. He clearly showed that there was the 
utmost diversity of character and conduct between the two 
monarchs, both before and after their accession to the throne. 
Nor is it easy to discover a more lamentable instance in which 
great talents have been basely prostituted to the defence and 
glorification of the most ignoble and unworthy objects, than 
the devotion of Gruizot to the fortunes, the fame, and the 
person of Louis Philippe. 

The prince sent a copy of his Historical Fragments to the 
literary veteran, Chateaubriand ; and received from him the 
following reply : 

" Prince : In the midst of your misfortunes, you have 
studied with as much sagacity as power the causes of a revo- 
lution which, in modern Europe, has opened the way to the 
calamities of monarchy. Your love of liberty, your courage, 
and your sufi'erings, would give you every claim in my eyes, 
only that to be worthy of your esteem, I must remain as 
faithful to the misfortunes of Henry Y. as I am to the glory 
of Napoleon. 

"Allow me, prince, to thank you for the extreme honor 
you have done me in quoting my name in your fine work. 
This precious testimony of your recollection penetrates me 
with the most lively gratitude." 

In 1842 Louis Napoleon published his Considerations 
siir la Question des Sucres, or Analysis of the Sugar Ques- 
tion. The object of this book was to convince the French 
government and people of the importance of encouraging the 
manufacture of domestic sugar from the beet-root, by in- 
creasing the tariff on the colonial and foreign sugar produced 
from the cane. He examines the whole subject both as a 
chemist, as a political economist, and as a statesman, and 



OF NAPOLEON III. 99 

discusses fully the various conflicting interests of the citizens 
of the metropolis, of the colonists, of the producers, of the 
consumers, and of the treasury. 

The next production of the prince was the L^ Extinction 
de la Pauperisme. The object of this work was to suggest 
plans for the relief and happiness of the suffering and des- 
titute classes of society, and to propose the most efficient 
methods of extending the advantages of civilization to those 
who are deprived of them. This work displays considerable 
power of thought and reflection. It was adapted to secure 
the favor of the working classes in the capital and through- 
out France, among whom, in a cheap form, it was gratui- 
tously distributed in immense numbers at a subsequent 
period. After the publication of this work, the prince 
commenced another, entitled: "The Past and Future of 
Artillery. " He intended to complete it in five large volumes, 
accompanied with engravings ; and he was engaged upon its 
composition when other matters of more immediate and press- 
ing importance suspended his labors. 

The publication of these different works attracted a con- 
siderable degree of attention to their author. His reputa- 
tion was not confined to the limits of his native country. 
We do not suppose that his writings, had they emanated from 
a person possessing an obscure and unknown name, would 
have gained for the author much reputation, or any eminence 
in the republic of letters. Like thousands of other works 
marked by a moderate share of ability which are yearly issued 
from the press, they would have had an ephemeral import- 
ance, and would then probably have been forgotten. Thus his 
"Ideas of Napoleonism " was but little read or noticed on 
its first publication, and long continued to lay dead and un- 
known ; but after its author had mounted the imperial throne, 
the work was suddenly discovered to possess extraordinary 
profundity and value. 

One of the consequences of the publication of the prince's 
writings was that Senor Castellan, the minister of the States 



100 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

of Central America to the Court of Louis Philippe, invited 
Louis Napoleon, in 1844, in case his liberty was again restored 
to him, to pass the rest of his life in that country. He was 
also requested to superintend the construction of a railroad or 
ship-canal, which had been projected a,cross the isthmus of 
Darien, and thus to unite together the two oceans. Seiior 
Castellan visited the prince in his prison and conferred with 
him on the subject. The latter was pleased with the idea, 
and would have acquiesced in the proposal, and placed him- 
self at the head of the enterprise. A few months later, he 
was officially informed by the government of Nicaragua, that 
he had been elected president of the proposed company, and 
that the work itself should be named in his honor, the Canal 
Napoleone de Nicaragua. Seiior de Marcoleta, Charge 
d' Affairs of Nicaragua to Belgium and Holland visited the 
prince at Ham, according to the instructions of his govern- 
ment, and concluded a treaty or contract with the prince, 
conferring on him full powers to act as head of the enterprise, 
and definitely settling all the details of the business ; but he 
was never destined to accomplish the task. In August, 1845, 
the health of his father, the ex-king of Holland, began to 
decline ; and he desired to have his only remaining son near 
his person during his last hours. Louis Napoleon had now 
been a captive daring five years, and as there was no prospect of 
his speedy release, his father sent M. Poggioli, a confidential 
agent, to Paris, to lay before the ministers of Louis Philippe 
the request that his son might be permitted to join him. 
The matter was proposed to Marshal Soult, President of the 
Council ; to Guizot, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; to Duchatel, 
Minister of the Interior. The prince himself sent a letter to 
the last named minister, preferring the same request, and 
promising solemnly that if he were permitted to go to 
Florence, the residence of "his father," he would return 
again to his prison at any moment the government might 
direct him so to do. 

Louis Napoleon was informed by M. Duchatel that the 



OF NAPOLEON III. 101 

favor which he requested was in substance a pardon, and a 
pardon could only emanate from the clemency of the king. 
The prince accordingly addressed a latter directly to Louis 
Philippe on the 14th of January, 1846, which was presented 
to his majesty by the son of Marshal Ney, now known as the 
Prince of Moscow. The king pretended to acquiesce ; but 
the ministers insisted that, before the permission was granted 
the prince should acknowledge his faults, and that the pardon 
should be conferred and received as an act of grace. In other 
words, an attempt was made by Louis Philippe both to gain 
the popularity which the pardon of the prince would secure him, 
and at the same time to humble and degrade him as a self-con- 
fessed criminal, and obtain, in substance, a direct renunciation 
on his part of all claim or pretension to the throne of France. 
This renunciation'the prince was unwilling to make ; nor was 
he disposed to incur the ignominy which any acknowledgment 
of former guilt on his part would entail upon him. He replied 
with great propriety, that he had resolved to die in prison 
rather than make any acknowledgment which would degrade 
his character, or would injure the prospects and compromise 
the rights of the cause which he represented. He asserted 
that for six years he had endured without complaint the rigors 
of a penalty which he had incurred by his faithful devotion to 
that cause ; and he possessed still the consolation of knowing 
that his honor was untarnished. His duty to his father urged 
him to hasten to his bedside. He had done everything in his 
power honorably to obtain his enlargement, and permission 
to perform that duty. Having failed in obtaining that per- 
mission, he was completely justified and excused. 

The time had now arrived when the prince determined to 
obtain his freedom, if possible, by other means. His plan 
was to elude the vigilance of his keepers and escape. Some 
repairs which were being made in the castle of Ham at that 
period, fortunately furnished an opportunity for the exercise 
of adroitness and resolution, in the planning and execution of 
the scheme. The excuse urged by the prince to his confidants 
9* 



1.02 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

for attempting his escape was that he might attend the sick 
bed of his father. But we believe this to have been merely 
a pretended reason : Louis Napoleon well knew that the ex- 
king of Holland was probably not his father ; and the fact 
that he did not really pay the least regard to his alleged 
parent, after his escape from the fortress had been effected, 

the fact that he immediately directed his steps not toward 

Florence but toward London, clearly proves that he had no 
sincere desire to visit the former husband of Hortense, with 
whom, during her lifetime, she had been constantly and 
bitterly at variance. 

The prince arranged his method of escape with his astute 
companion in captivity. Dr. Conneau, and he was materially 
aided by his faithful valet-de-chambre, Charles Thelin. The 
prince was to pretend to be ill, to keep his bed for several 
days ; while the doctor exercised his anatomical ingenuity in 
fabricating the figure of a false prince, which was destined to 
play an important part in the events which were about to 
transpire. 

In truth the plot was devised and executed with much 
ability ; and the conduct of Louis Napoleon on this occasion 
affords the first glimmer or exhibition of those superior 
powers of combination and of arrangement which afterward 
characterized his life, and ensured his subsequent successes. 
The secret of all his triumphs has been, and is, his long, 
careful, concentrated study and pre-arrangement of the 
details of any attempt. When he thus labors to bring about 
any result, he succeeds. Whenever, on the contrary, he acts 
upon impulse, he inevitably fails. He possesses none of the 
brilliant, rapid, resistless and decisive genius of the great 
Napoleon, who accomplished wonders by bold and sudden 
movements, upon which no other man would have ventured. 
Louis Napoleon's talents fit him to excel in careful and ela- 
borate planning, in mysterious and impenetrable secrecy, in 
unwavering perseverance and determination. Strasburg 
and Boulogne were instances of his sudden and impulsive 



OF NAPOLEON III. 103 

action, and they were ignominious failures. His escape from 
Ham and the coup d^etaf, were exhibitions of his capacity 
for cautious and ehiborate plotting ; and they were signal and 
magnificent triumphs. Another illustration of the latter de- 
scription was his agency in bringing about the Crimean war, 
whose final issue also added to his celebrity, and served to 
consolidate his power. 

The escape of Louis Napoleon from the fortress of Ham 
was aided by the fact that the commandant and his soldiers 
had gradually imbibed the impression that the prisoner did 
not wish to escape. Three keepers were charged with the 
immediate surveillance of his person. Two of these were 
always stationed at the bottom of the stairs which were the 
immediate outlet to his apartments. One of these keepers, 
at an early hour in the morning, was usually absent from his 
post for a quarter of an hour to procure the daily newspapers. 
No person was allowed to enter the fortress, and the utmost 
scrutiny was exercised over every one who wished to go 
out. A total disguise alone would enable the prisoner to 
escape ; and that was the expedient which he determined to 
adopt. He proposed to assume the garb of one of the work- 
men who were then repairing the fortress, and to pass out 
with them. 

All the arrangements were completed by Saturday, May 
23d, 1846 ; but the execution of them was postponed until 
Monday the 25th. Shortly after five o'clock in the morning 
the draw-bridge was lowered, and the workmen entered the 
fortress between two files of soldiers. They were not as 
numerous as usual, and there were no joiners among them. 
This was unfortunate, as it was in the garb of a joiner that the 
prisoner intended to attempt his escape. Early in the morning, 
he, Dr. Conneau and Thelin had risen, and the prince was 
then attired in his borrowed dress. His height was increased 
four inches by inserting high-heeled boots into his sabots 
or wooden shoes, while the legs of his trousers concealed the 
deception. His moustaches were cut off, every preparation 



104 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

was made, his disguise was complete, and as he had deter- 
mined not to be taken alive, he furnished himself with offen- 
sive and defensive weapons. He retained on his person the 
most valuable relic which he possessed. This was a letter 
written by the Emperor Napoleon to Hortense, in which he 
expresses his interest in the future fate of the prince, and his 
confidence in his excellent qualities. He drew over his usual 
dress grey pantaloons, a coarse linen shirt cut off at the waist, 
and a blouse, which had been purposely soiled. To these 
were added an old blue linen apron, a wig of long black hair, 
and a soiled cap. His hands and face were then stained red. 
He loosened one of the long shelves of his library and hoisted 
it on his shoulders, to aid in the deception. 

At length at fifteen minutes before seven the prince issued 
from his chamber. He immediately descended the stairs, at 
the bottom of which the two keepers were posted. Thelin 
accompanied him, and as they approached the keepers he 
drew one of them aside pretending to have something to say 
to him privately. The other keeper drew back to avoid the 
plank which the prince carried. The fugitive thus passed 
through the wicket. He then entered the court-yard. When 
passing through this, he was met by several persons, both 
soldiers and workmen, some of whom eyed him closely ; but so 
complete was his disguise that they failed to identify or even 
to suspect him. Having arrived at the great gate, the keeper's 
attention was attracted by Thelin who was playing boisterously 
with Ham, the prince's dog, which he led in a leash. The 
bolt was drawn, the prisoner passed through the gate, and 
it was closed behind him. Thelin continued his conversation 
with the keeper, and after a few minutes thus employed, he 
also passed out. The prince took' the road along the ram- 
parts which joins the high road to St. Quentin, whilst Thelin 
hastened into the village of Ham to procure the carriage 
which he had engaged on the previous evening. The prince 
hastened on to the cemetery of St. Sulpice, two miles distant 



OF NAPOLEON III. 105 

from the fortress, at which he had appointed to meet his faith- 
ful valet with the means of conveyance. 

Thelin having arrived at the designated place, the prince 
threw his plank into a cornfield, kicked off his sabots into a 
ditch, jumped into the vehicle, took the reins, and began to 
drive at a rapid pace. They travelled quickly over the fifteen 
miles which separate Ham from St. Quentin. The horses 
were changed several times at the post-houses, but no recog- 
nition took place. As they approached St. Quentin the 
prince divested himself of his old trousers, blouse, and cap, 
retaining the wig, and left the carriage in order to pass around 
the town on foot, avoid the scrutiny to which he would have 
there been subjected, and meet Thelin, provided with fresh 
horses, on the Cambray road. They reached Valenciennes at 
two o'clock. Here their passport was examined. They there 
awaited the train of cars which started at four o'clock for 
Brussels. The interval of suspense seemed endless, and had 
the prince's escape been discovered in time at Ham, it would 
have proved fatal. But that discovery was not made so soon ; 
the prince and his attendant safely reached Brussels ; thence they 
hastened to Ostend ; and thence they journeyed to England. 

The fact of the prince's escape was concealed at the fortress 
in the following manner. Dr. Conneau, immediately after 
the departure of the prince, placed the stuffed figure in his 
bed with its wax face turned toward the wall. He then closed 
the door leading from the prince's chamber into the saloon, 
and kindled a large fire, in order to keep up the illusion that 
the prince was ill. He deposited the coffee-pot on the 
stove, and told the servant, La Place, that the prince was 
sick. At nine o'clock the commandant of the fortress, De 
Marie, came to the saloon and inquired for the prince. Dr. 
Conneau replied that he was ill, and that unless the com- 
mandant had something of importance to say, it would be 
better not to disturb him. The commandant put his head 
inside the door of the bed-chamber, saw the figure lying in 
bed, and concluded that all was right. Dr. Conneau then 



106 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

took an emetic, which the physician of the castle had ordered 
for the patient, performed the consequent functions, and by 
the odor which was produced in the apartment, confirmed the 
general deception as to the real illness of the supposed prince. 
At twelve o'clock the commandant returned to Louis Na- 
poleon's apartment, and inquired after his health. Dr. 
Conneau replied that he was now somewhat easier. He was 
satisfied and again retired. At two o'clock he paid a third 
visit to the apartments of his 'prisoner. This time Dr. Con- 
neau informed him that the prince had just taken a bath, and 
was then enjoying a refreshing slumber. The generous 
Cerberus refused to disturb his captive under such agreeable 
circumstances, and again retired. But when evening came 
he made his last call for the day ; he inquired after the prince's 
health, and was gravely informed by the doctor that he was 
still reposing after the emetic and the bath. The commandant 
began to be surprised, and to think that he had certainly 
taken under his charge one of the seven sleepers of Ephesus. 
" I must speak to him," he exclaimed. " 0, let him quietly 
sleep on," responded the doctor, who by a great effort re- 
tained a sober countenance. The commandant then opened 
the door of the chamber and called to the prince. The prince, 
very naturally, made no response. The commandant imme- 
diately approached the bed, gazed into the recumbent wax 
face, punched the stuffed figure in the ribs, and discovered at 
last, with horror and amazement, that the bird had flown. 
" When did the prince escape ?" he demanded of Dr. Con- 
neau. ''At seven o'clock this morning," was the answer. 
"Who were the persons on guard?" ''I don't know," 
replied the doctor ; at the same time giving vent to his lono-- 
subdued risibility by a vast thunder-clap of laughter. The 
unhappy commandant, overwhelmed with chagrin and terror, 
turned away and rapidly left the apartment. His wife fainted 
on hearing of the prince's escape. The news flew like the 
wind throughout the castle, and throughout the village ; the 
country in every direction was instantly searched ; expresses 



OF NAPOLEON III. 107 

were dispatched to the railway and police stations. But all 
was in vain. Too much time had been gained by the fugitive 
through the plausible representations of the faithful and adroit 
Conneau. 

On the prince's arrival in London he applied for passports 
from the representative of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, per- 
mitting him to visit his father at Florence. They were denied 
him ; and the Grand Duke afterward informed the ex-King 
of Holland that "French influence" would not permit him 
to tolerate the presence of Louis Napoleon in Florence even 
for twenty-four hours. The ex-King expired soon afterward, 
without again seeing Louis Napoleon, whom in his latter 
years he pretended to regard as his son ! 



108 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



CHAPTER VII. 

Interview of the Prince with Count d'Orsay — Lady Douglass Death 

of the ex-King of Holland — The Melanges Politiques^ History of the 
Downfall of Louis Philippe — State of Parties in France — The Mon- 
ster Banquets — Popular Tumults — M. Molle — The New Ministry 
of Thiers— Delusion of the King— His Flight from Paris — Esta- 
bhshment of the Provisional Government — Letters of Louis Napoleon 
to the Provisional Government— His Return to London — He is 
elected a Representative by Four Departments — His Letters to the 
Electors and to the Assembly— He sends in his Resignation as Repre- 
sentative to the Assembly — Popular Tumults — Cavaignac appointed 
Dictator — Louis Napoleon re-elected Representative by Five Depart- 
ments — His Appearance in the Assembly — His Speech Decree 

of Banishment against the Bonapartes annulled. 

Immediately on his arrival in London the fugitive prince 
repaired to Gore House, the residence of Count d'Orsay. 
The count was not always easy of access. He was one of 
those lavish, expensive and ostentatious persons who are con- 
tinually favored with the visits of tradesmen, bailiffs, and other 
similarly pertinacious and obtrusive individuals, who some- 
times bestow the honor and the felicity of their company 
where they are not wanted. Accordingly, when informed by 
his valet that a stranger desired to be admitted, whose appear- 
ance was not very prepossessing, and who refused to give his 
name, the perfumed count sent back word that the mysterious 
individual must positively go away, inasmuch as he would 
not see him. As soon as the prince received this answer, he 
perceived the nature of the joke, and sent the servant back to 
say that he had called on business of importance, and that he 
was determined to see the count. This message only increased 
the consternation of the nobleman ; and he inquired more 
particularly as to the appearance of the visitor. The valet^s 
description intimated that he was a foreigner j and other de- 



OF NAPOLEON III, 109 

tails led to the opinion that he might be Louis Napoleon. 
With this conviction on his mind, the count ventured to pro- 
trude his head through the door of the ante-room, in order 
to reconnoitre at a safe distance. He at once recognized his 
quondam friend, and rushing out heartily received and em- 
braced him. 

A few days after his arrival in London the prince visited 
his cousin, Lady Douglass, now the Duchess of Hamilton. 
She said to him : " Well, you are free at last. Will you now 
be quiet ? Will you lay aside those fallacies which have cost 
you so dear, and the cruel delusions of those dreams which 
have given those who love you so much anxiety?" The 
prince responded : " My dear cousin, I do not belong to my- 
self; I belong to my name and my country. It is because 
my fortune has twice betrayed me, that my destiny is nearer 
its accomplishment. I bide my time ! " This remark illus- 
trates the constancy of hope and confidence which has charac- 
terized Louis Napoleon during his whole lifetime. 

After the prince's escape from Ham, his father, the ex-King 
of Holland, and Count of St. Leu, having died at Florence, 
in his will he expressed a desire that his remains might be 
buried in the village of St. Leu, near Paris, from which he 
took his title. Said he : "I have borne the name of that 
village for forty years, and I liked the place better than any 
other in the world." His desire was complied with. A 
guard of honor, consisting of the veteran soldiers of the em- 
pire, attended the funeral solemnities. The concourse of 
citizens was also large. Louis Napoleon addressed a letter 
afterward to Captain Le Comte, the officer who commanded 
the military on that occasion, thanking him for his interest 
and activity during the obsequies. 

The prince was destined to sojourn as an exile in England 
for a year and a half. He there readily made himself at 
home. He had many personal friends, who had not forgot- 
ten him daring six years of absence and captivity. Mrs. 
Howard still flourished in the metropolis, and she still 
10 



110 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

retained her attachment to the fortunes and the person of the 
prince. He renewed his connection with her ; and having 
nothing else wherewith to occupy his mind, he devoted him- 
self to the mingled excitement of pleasure and study. 

The fruit of his intellectual diversions was his work entitled 
Melanges Politiques. This book displays the same qualities 
as those which characterized his previous productions. He 
now seemed to have come to the deliberate conclusion, that 
notwithstanding his repeated failures, and the long postpone- 
ment of his hopes, the day of th&ir realization was rapidly 
approaching. He believed that the downfall of Louis Phi- 
lippe would soon take place ; and he believed rightly. French 
governments in modern times, and since the downfall of the 
ancient monarchy, never last longer than sixteen or seventeen 
years. Seventeen years were the limit of the supremacy of 
Napoleon I. Seventeen years the restored Bourbons reigned. 
Seventeen years Louis Philippe occupied the throne. And we 
may safely predict that seventeen years will be the longest 
period allotted by the hand of Destiny to the restored dynasty 
of the Bonapartes. The parallel may seem absurd, but it is 
based on solid reasons, and deduced from rational inferences. 

The various causes which led to the downfall of the money- 
bag-king, Louis Philippe, need not here be narrated in much 
detail. The " Napoleon of Peace" had gradually lost the 
confidence of the French nation. They perceived that he 
ruled, not with the slightest design to promote their welfare, 
but wholly for the aggrandizement of himself and his family ; 
that he was greedily heaping up riches by the million ; that he 
was continually purchasing principalities and lordships ; that 
he was marrying off his children into all the available royal 
families of the continent ; that he was constantly curtailing 
liberty ; that he had so far corrupted the Chamber of 
Deputies that they had become the most abject and fawning 
of slaves ; that the new fortifications of Paris were in reality 
only the defences of the court and the palace ; that the elec- 
tive franchise of the nation had been turned into a farce ; in 



OF NAPOLEON III. Ill 

a word, that Louis Philippe had proved himself to be one 
of the most selfish, unprincipled and detestable tyrants of 
modern times. 

The people began to murmur, and their murmurings were 
uttered, not at " monster meetings," which were forbidden by 
law, but at monster banquets, which the law could not forbid. 
At these banquets the king's health was always carefully and 
insultingly omitted in the list of toasts. The nation was 
then divided into three parties. The first was the Legitimists, 
who adored the elder branch of the Bourbons ; who still upheld 
the divine right of the house of Capet, and of the ancient 
monarchy ; and who detested the house of Orleans as intruders 
and usurpers. Their organ was the Gazette de France, edited 
by Genoude, and supported in the Chamber by Berryer. The 
second party were the Kepublicans. These were divided into 
two branches, the Moderate and the Extreme. The Moderate 
Republicans were represented by the National, edited by 
Marrast; the views of the Extreme were set forth in the 
Reforme, conducted by Elocon." Their mouth-piece in the 
Chamber was Ledru Eollin. The third party was the Liberal 
or Constitutional, whose journal was La Presae, and whose 
leader was Odillon Barrot. All these parties now united 
in repudiating the policy and government of Louis Philippe, 
and those of his ministers. Of the latter, Guizot was simply a 
philosopher and a man of letters, utterly unfit to conduct the 
practical interests and affairs of the nation. Duchatel was a 
practical man of business, skilful, unprincipled, and adroit ; 
but his adroitness had gained for him only the distrust and 
the apprehensions of the nation. 

This distrust and apprehension had been chiefly expressed 
at the monster banquets, which had begun to be popular. 
When Louis Philippe opened the Chamber of Deputies in 
December, 184T, he gave utterance to his feelings and charged 
those members of the Chamber who had attended these 
banquets with being hostile to royalty, to the best interests 
of the nation, and with being blind to the serious results 



112 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

which might follow. After the conclusion of the royal speech 
a violent debate ensued. M. Thiers, the orator of the oppo- 
sition, led off; Odillon Barrot followed with equal fervor and 
ability. Ledru Rollin then spoke with a degree of eloquence 
and power which at once placed him in the first rank of 
speakers in the Chamber. The result was that Louis Philippe 
began to tremble on his throne. A great banquet was an- 
nounced for the 22d of February, to which all the deputies of the 
opposition, magistrates, members of the municipal govern- 
ment, and delegates from the colleges and schools were invited, 
to the number of fifteen hundred persons. They were to 
assemble first in the Place de la Concord, and proceed thence 
to the banquet. 

This banquet was prohibited by a decree of the government ; 
orders were issued to the commander of the National Guard 
to forbid their attendance even as spectators ; and the garrison 
of Paris was increased to a hundred thousand men, by immedi- 
ately summoning a large number of soldiers from Yincennes, 
and other fortresses in the vicinity of the capital. On Tuesday, 
the day appointed for the prohibited banquet, all Paris was 
in a state of fermentation. Immense crowds hurried along the 
streets, and the everlasting Marseillaise was heard echoing 
and re-echoing in every direction. " Down with Guizot!'' 
was shouted on all sides. A strong body of troops had 
been drawn, by this time, around the Tuilleries ; and although 
some barricades were erected by the people between Rue St. 
Denis and Rue St. Martin, Tuesday passed over without 
anything of importance transpiring. During the ensuing 
night, however, the factions were not idle ; but an intense 
activity prevailed. On Wednesday the excitement which 
pervaded the capital became more intense and universal. 
Crowds streamed toward the Champs Ely sees, and the Bou- 
levards were filled with people, whom even the deluge of rain 
which fell could not disperse. At this crisis the government 
proposed to make some concessions, and M. Mole was called 
to the head of the cabinet. The Duke de Montpensier also 



OF NAPOLEON III. 113 

offered to send to the Chambers a project of electoral 
reform, and another for parliamentary reform. The formation 
of a new ministry was announced to the excited Parisians, 
and Louis Philippe and M. Mole attempted to devise new 
measures, and conditions for the cabinet. During Wed- 
nesday no further decisive movements were made by the popu- 
lace ; but the king and M. Mole could not agree upon the 
terms and arrangements necessary for the construction of the 
government, and in despair, Louis Philippe at length sent for 
M. Thiers. Thiers agreed to undertake the formation of an- 
other ministry, provided Odillon Barrot became a member of 
it. The king agreed to everything, entirely overwhelmed by- 
terror and confusion. Thiers wrote the following proclama- 
tion, which was published in the public journals, and was 
placarded in large bills over the city : ' ' Citizens of Paris, 
orders are given everywhere to cease firing. — We have just 
received the commands of the king to form a new ministry. 
The chamber is to be dissolved. An appeal is to be made 
to the country. General Lamoriciere is appointed commander- 
in-chief of the National Guard of Paris. MM. Thiers, 
Barrot, and Duvergier de Hauranne, are appointed ministers. 
Liberty, Order, and Reform." 

Nobody paid the least attention to this proclamation of M. 
Thiers. At four o'clock in the morning of the 24th, Louis 
Philippe, overcome with fatigue, retired to his chamber to sleep, 
confident that the appointment of a new and more popular 
ministry would appease the frenzied Parisians. It was a delu- 
sive hope. He then laid down upon his royal bed for the last 
time. Little did he then imagine that the sun should rise on 
him as king no more ! At eleven o'clock in the forenoon he 
came down stairs again, refreshed with slumber, with a 
smiling countenance, and in a negligent dress, to partake of 
a family breakfast. He then learned to his astonishment 
and terror that all Paris was in commotion ; that the National 
Guards had fraternized with the insurgents ; that the procla- 
mation of Thiers was everywhere torn down and trodden 
10* H 



114 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

under foot ; that his Palais Koyal had been assaulted and 
plundered ; and that the ruin of his throne and dynasty 
became each instant more imminent. He retired to his 
chamber, and putting on the uniform of the National Guard, 
he mounted his horse, and hastened to the Place du Carrou- 
sal to review the troops collected there. A few shouts of 
Vive le Boi were heard as he approached ; but these were 
totally overwhelmed by the innumerable yells of " Vive la 
Reforme P^ The king soon returned again to the palace, 
utterly at a loss what to do. Summoning his new cabinet, 
he consulted with them. At that moment Emile Girardin, 
the editor of La Presse, opened the door of the apartment 
and entered. He informed the king respectfully, that unless 
he immediately abdicated, the throne would be overturned, 
and his whole family be exiled or destroyed. After some 
hesitation the king signed a proclamation, containing in four 
lines the following announcements : The abdication of the 
king, the regency of the Duchess of Orleans, the dissolution 
of the chamber, and a general amnesty. He added at the 
close : "I abdicate in favor of my grandson, the Count of 
Paris " 

The king now retired to his chamber, and exchanged his 
uniform for a citizen's dress. He had already taken the reso- 
lution to flee ; for all Paris resounded with the explosion of 
fire-arms, some public buildings were already burning, and the 
palace was surrounded by an infuriated mob, whose excesses 
none could anticipate or control. As the king rose to with- 
draw, the Duchess of Orleans wished to follow him ; but he 
prevented her, declaring that she must remain for the sake of 
her son, in whose favor he had abdicated. Bursting into 
tears, the terrified Duchess was compelled to obey. After- 
ward when she and the Count of Paris were presented to the 
Chamber of Deputies for their recognition and acknowledg- 
ment, she was informed that it was too late to propose or 
accept such an arrangement, and that the Orleans dynasty 
had absolutely and completely ceased to reign in France. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 115 

But the fugitive king, escaping from his palace by a remote 
gateway, entered a hackney-coach, drove rapidly through 
the most obscure streets, and left forever a capital raging 
with excitement, and filled with detestation of his person and 
his measures. Scarcely had he quitted the Tuilleries, when 
a crowd of desperate republicans, headed by Dumoyer, forced 
their way into it, and instantly defaced and removed all the 
traces and emblems of royalty which existed there, including 
the throne and its canopy. Had they found the monarch 
himself, it is not improbable that he would have paid for 
his money-bags with his life. But he escaped their fury ; 
and after a rapid journey, he safely reached the shores of 
England. While the king was making the best of his way 
toward Calais, the excited Chambers were discussing the es- 
tablishment of a new government. Lamartine, Ledru Rollin, 
Marrast and others, addressed the legislature ; and the long 
and stormy session ended in the establishment of a Republic, 
with a provisional government, of which the members were 
Lamartine, Arago, Dupont de I'Eure, Marie, Gamier Pages» 
Ledru Rollin, Cremieux, Elocon, Marrast, and Louis Blanc. 

The utmost excitement pervaded England when information 
was received of this great and sudden revolution ; and fears 
were apprehended of a similar convulsion in that country. 
The Chartists began to move, to assemble in the open air, to 
make furious speeches, and to offer interminable petitions to 
Parliament. Trafalgar Square and Kennington Common 
became the scenes of these threatening and blustering demon- 
strations. The government, to prevent further harm, enlisted 
an immense number of special constables. Among these im- 
portant personages Louis Napoleon took his place, and helped 
to preserve the peace and integrity of the British empire. It 
was quite unnecessary ; for the poor and miserable of the 
London population soon settled down again in imbecile and 
starving quietude, while the wealthy and comfortable went on 
revelling in luxury as before. 

In the formation of the new Provisional Government the 



116 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

utmost care was taken by those whom the sudden force of 
circumstances had elevated to power, to exclude everything 
like Bonapartism. Yery soon after the flight of Louis Phi- 
lippe from Paris, Louis Napoleon proceeded to that city, ac- 
companied by Dr. Conneau and a few other friends. On his 
arrival the partisans of the Bonapartes surrounded him, among 
whom were Montholon, Persigny, Yoisin, old Jerome Bona- 
parte and his son, Prince Napoleon. What their secret deli- 
berations may have been, is unknown ; but Louis Napoleon, 
soon after his arrival, sent the following letter to Lamartine, 
the Minister of Foreign Affairs : ^^ Messieurs : — The heroic 
people of Paris having destroyed the last vestiges of foreign 
invasion, I hasten from my exile to place myself under the 
banner of the republic just proclaimed. With no other am- 
bition than that of serving my country, I come to announce 
my arrival to the members of the Provisional Government, 
and to assure them of my devotion to the cause which they 
represent, as well as of my sympathy for themselves. Accept, 
Messieurs, the assurance of my sentiments." 

There was no necessity whatever for Louis Napoleon to 
announce to the Provisional Government, whose members 
were overwhelmed with other and more important duties, his 
arrival in Paris. This letter was in reality an attempt to give 
himself consequence ; and the result was, as perhaps it should 
have been, an immediate order to the prince, whose devotion 
to their cause, and whose sympathy for themselves, were not 
wanted or believed, to leave Paris within twenty-four hours. 
Had Louis Napoleon kept himself quiet, it is probable that 
he had been forgotten by the government, and might have 
plotted on in secret with more celerity and success. In truth, 
a proposition was made in the assemblage of ministers, to 
arrest the conspirator of Strasburg and Boulogne, and con- 
fine him again in Ham, as being a measure which the security 
of the state demanded. But Lamartine opposed this measure 
as an odious act of persecution, and at the same time as im- 
politic ; for such a proceeding would only give its victim 



OF NAPOLEON III. 117 

greater consequence, and increase the number and activity of 
his friends. 

Louis Napoleon at first hesitated as to the course which he 
should pursue at this crisis. Some of his advisers wished him 
to withdraw to some garrison-city, and there raise again the 
standard of rebellion against the existing government. But 
after some deliberation he wisely concluded that such a de- 
monstration would end, as the previous attempts had ended, 
in failure ; and he determined to withdraw for the present to 
England. He announced his resolution to the government 
in the following letter: ^'Messieurs: — After thirty-three 
years of exile and persecution, I thought I had acquired the 
right of finding a home on the soil of ray country. You deem 
my presence in Paris at this moment a subject of embarrass- 
ment. I withdraw then for a time. You will see in this 
sacrifice the purity of my intentions and my patriotism. 
Receive, Messieurs, the assurance of my deep sympathy and 
esteem." 

The prince accordingly returned to London, but Persigny 
remained in Paris for the purpose of organizing the Napoleonic 
party in the very heart of the young republic. This man was 
well adapted to the performance of this task. He was elo- 
quent, skilful, prudent, energetic, and courageous. He be- 
came at once the soul of the faction. He founded a secret 
Napoleonic committee, which soon extended its ramifications 
throughout the whole of France, under whose direction de- 
voted and active agents were sent into every city, town, and 
village, preparing the country for the return of the reign of 
Napoleonism in the person of the absent prince. By the 
diffusion of pictures, busts, and sketches of the Great Corsi- 
can ; by innumerable pamphlets and popular books ; by 
speeches, poems, satires on the Bourbons and the Jacobins ; 
by every possible contrivance, Napoleonism was difi'used 
throughout the nation, and hints given of future decisive de- 
velopments to be made in its favor. 

The first fruits of these labors were seen in the election of 



118 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Pierre Napoleon, the son of Lucien, and Prince Napoleon, 
as representatives of the people in the Assembly. Louis 
Napoleon, although invited to become a candidate, refused 
until the decree was formally abrogated which banished the 
Bonaparte family from France. Prince Lucien Murat was 
at the same time chosen representative for the department 
of Lot. 

On the 4th of May, 1848, the Constituent Assembly held 
its first session. The provisional government then expired, 
and the Assembly elected a committee of five to administer 
the government, until a definite establishment of power was 
made. The committee were Arago, Gamier Pages, Marie, 
Lamartine, and Ledru Rollin. A petition was soon pre- 
sented to the Assembly signed by twenty of its members, 
demanding that the law banishing the Bonapartes from 
Prance should be abrogated. Before this matter was defi- 
nitely settled, Louis Napoleon was elected, on the 3d of 
June, a representative of the people in four departments at 
once. One of these was the department of the Seine, in- 
cluding the city of Paris, in which the prince received eighty- 
five thousand votes. The other departments were the Yonne, 
Charente-Inferieure, and Corsica. Thus, for the first time, 
in the progress of his adventurous life, did the exiled prince 
begin to gain the halo of success ; his star so long lingering 
beneath the horizon now began to appear dimly above its 
verge, and to commence that slow but sure ascent, which was 
destined to end at last by a glorious and triumphant culmi- 
nation at the zenith. 

The election of Louis Napoleon at once terrified the exist- 
ing government. They determined that he should not sit in 
the Assembly. Orders were given for his arrest, should he 
be found anywhere in the French territory. It was asserted 
by his enemies in the Assembly that the prince was not a 
French citizen ; that he was a pretender to the fallen throne ; 
that the people had no right to elect as representative a man 
who was not a citizen, and who, by his imperial aspirations, 



OP NAPOLEON III. 119 

was necessarily a traitor to the Republic. Lamartme pro- 
posed a decree in the Assembly re-asserting the law of the 
16th of April, 1832, banishing Louis Napoleon from the 
French territory, which decree was passed amid loud shouts 
of Vive la Repuhlique ! 

On the 13th of June, the Assembly was called on to decide 
upon the validity of the elections which had resulted in the 
choice of Louis Napoleon. The debate was very violent. 
The friends of the prince defended him with ability. Able 
speeches were made by Ledru Rollin, Yieillard, Bonjean, 
and others. The result was that the Assembly did not dare 
to trample under foot the will of so many departments, 
the election of Louis Napoleon was eventually declared 
valid, and the executive commission was defeated. He sent 
the following letter of thanks to the departments by whom 
he had been elected : 

"Citizens: Your votes fill me with gratitude. This 
mark of sympathy, the more flattering as I had not solicited 
it, comes to find me regretting my inactivity at a time when 
our country has need of the united efforts of all her children 
to extricate her from her difficult position. 

"Your confidence imposes duties upon me which I shall 
know how to fulfil ; our interests, our sentiments, our wishes 
are the same. A Parisian by birth, now a representative of 
the people, I shall unite my efforts to those of my colleagues 
to re-establish order, credit, industry, to assure external 
peace, to consolidate democratic institutions, to conciliate 
interests which are seemingly hostile, because they are 
mutually suspicious and clash against each other, instead of 
marching together towards one common goal, the prosperity 
and greatness of the country. 

"The people are free since the 24th of February; they 
can now obtain every thing without having recourse to brutal 
violence. 

' ' Let us rally then round the altar of our country, under 
the flag of the republic, and let us present to the world the 



120 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

grand spectacle of a people regenerating itself without fury, 
without civil war, without anarchy. 

" Receive, dear fellow-citizens, the assurance of my devo- 
tion and of my sympathies." 

At the same time he wrote the following letter to the As- 
sembly, for the purpose of allaying their suspicions and fears : 

" Monsieur le President : I was setting out for my post 
when I learned that my election was made the pretext for 
deplorable troubles and fatal mistakes. I have not sought 
the honor of being a representative of the people, because I 
was aware of the injurious suspicions which rested upon me ; 
much less did I seek the power. If the people impose duties 
upon me, I shall know how to fulfil them. 

" But I disavow all the ambitious designs that some attri- 
bute to me. My name is a symbol of order, of nationality, 
of glory, and it would be with the liveliest grief that I should 
see it subservient to national disorders. To avoid such a 
misfortune I prefer to remain in exile. I am ready to sacri- 
fice every thing for the happiness of France. 

*' Have the goodness, Mr. President, to communicate this 
letter to the Assembly. I enclose you a copy of my letter 
of thanks to the electors." 

The reading of this letter in that abominable legislative 
Babel, the Assembly, occasioned a frightful commotion. An 
attempt was made to pass a vote of outlawry against the 
prince, who thus dared to write a letter to the Assembly and 
never once name the word Republic ! There is no telling 
what the result might have been had not the prince sent a 
letter with the utmost haste from London, resigning his office 
as representative of the people. Though the excitement in 
reference to Louis Napoleon had been thus allayed, other 
causes of disturbance agitated the capital, which resulted 
eventually in the overthrow of the Committee of Five, and 
the appointment of General Cavaignac as Dictator. A battle 
lasting three days and three nights ensued, in which many 
thousands were slain. At length, when order was restored, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 121 

General Cavaignac resigned his power into the hands of the 
Assembly, who passed a vote of thanks in his favor. 

And now the time had arrived at which a re-election was 
to take place in the departments which had once chosen Louis 
Napoleon. He publicly announced his intention to accept 
the office of representative if again chosen. The result was 
that he was elected by increased majorities, and in five 
departments. As soon as he was informed of this result, he 
immediately started for Paris, and arrived there on the 24th 
of September. He took up his residence in the Hotel de 
Rhine, on the Place Yendome. On the 26th of September 
he made his first appearance in the Assembly. His presence 
attracted considerable attention. The clerk charged with 
making the returns of the elections of Seine, Moselle, Corsica, 
Yonne, and Charente-Inferieure, ascended the tribune and 
read his report. As soon as the president of the Assembly 
announced that Louis Napoleon was a representative of the 
people, the prince arose, left his place, ascended the tribune, 
and read from a paper the following declaration, in a clear 
and impressive voice : 

" Citizen Representatives : I can no longer maintain silence 
regarding the calumnies of which I have been the object. 

" I find it necessary to express here aloud, and on the first 
day I am permitted to take a seat amongst you, the real 
sentiments which animate me, and which have always 
animated me. 

"After thirty years of exile and proscription, I at last 
recover my country, and my rights as a citizen. 

"The republic has granted me this happiness: let the 
republic then receive the oath of my gratitude, the oath of 
my devotion, and let my generous countrymen, who have 
brought me into this Assembly, be certain that I shall en- 
deavor to justify their suffrages by laboring with you for the 
preservation of tranquillity — that first of the country's wants 
— and for the development of those democratic institutions 
that the people have a right to demand. 
11 



122 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

" For a long time I have been able to devote to France 
nothing but the meditations of exile and captivity. Now the 
career in which you march is open to me ; receive me into 
your ranks, my dear colleagues, with the same sentiment of 
affectionate confidence that I bear towards you. 

" My conduct, always inspired by duty, always animated 
with respect for the law, shall prove, in spite of all those who, 
by blackening me, attempt to proscribe me again, that no one 
here is more determined than I to devote himself to the de- 
fence of order, and to the consolidation of the republic." 

These remarks were received with silence by the great body 
of the Assembly, and with loud applause by the enthusiastic 
friends of the prince. 

The next measure of importance which came before the 
Assembly was a decision upon the method in which the future 
President of the Republic should be chosen. Three modes 
were proposed ; but after some discussion the Assembly 
resolved that the President should be elected by the universal 
suffrage of the people. One thing more only remained to 
secure the future triumph of the growing power of the Bona- 
parte faction ; and a few days afterward the exile and pro- 
scription of the Bonaparte family, which were contained in 
the laws of 1816 and 1832, were formally abrogated and 
abolished. Thus was one impediment after another adroitly 
removed from the pathway of the aspiring prince in his ascent 
to the summit of power and glory I 



OF NAPOLEON III. 123 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The New Constitution — Candidates for the Presidency — Cavaignac — • 
Ledru RoUin — The Immortal "Name" — Activity of the Partisans 
of Louis Napoleon — Manifestoes of the Candidates — Results of the 
Election — Inauguration of President Louis Napoleon — Difficulties 
of his Position — Defects of the New Constitution — The Cabinet of 
the President — Activity and Violence of the Red Republican Clubs — 
Fouchet's Bill for their Suppression — Ledru RoUin proposes the Im- 
peachment of the Ministers — The President's Intrepidity — Conspi- 
racy against him throughout France — Opposition to him in the As- 
sembly — Revolution in the Ecclesiastical States — Roman Republic 
proclaimed — Mazzini and Garibaldi — Defeat of General Oudinot — 
The New Legislative Assembly — Louis Napoleon's Message to the 
Assembly — Downfall of the Roman Republic 

The Assembly decreed that the election of the President 
of the Republic should take place on the 10th of December, 
1848. The new Constitution was formally adopted on the 
4th of November by a majority of seven hundred and thirty- 
nine votes against thirty. Its chief opponents were Victor 
Hugo, Proudhom, Montalembert, and Berryer. On Sunday, 
November 12th, it was proclaimed in the Place de la Con- 
corde with solemn and imposing religious ceremonies. The 
occasion was graced with the presence of the clergy of Paris, 
the National Assembly, the municipal authorities, deputations 
from all the departments of Prance, and the National Guards 
in uniform. 

The approaching election for President of the Republic 
was an event of most vital importance. Six candidates oc- 
cupied prominent places in the public attention. These were 
Louis Napoleon, Cavaignac, Ledru Rollin, Raspail, Lamar- 
tine, and Chaugarnier. The Socialists were divided into three 
factions. The democratic wing was represented by Ledru 
Rollin ; the partisans of communism had chosen Raspail, then 



124 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

a prisoner in the dungeons of Yincennes, as their leader ; the 
third portion, composed of the remains of the "Workmen 
Corporations, ' ' supported Louis Blanc. The Moderates were 
also divided into three parties. The one, consisting of the 
wrecks of the national party, was led by Lamartine ; the 
second was headed by General Cavaignac, chief of the execu- 
tive power ; and the third was the great Bonaparte fac- 
tion, of which Louis Napoleon was the representative. This 
last party was supported by the Presse, the Gonstitutionnel, 
the Emnement, the Libert^ — journals which possessed the 
greatest circulation in France. But the impending struggle 
really lay between General Cavaignac and Louis Napo- 
leon, men of the most opposite characters and incongruous 
principles. 

General Cavaignac was a man fully worthy of the confi- 
dence of the nation. He possessed great integrity and mode- 
ration of character ; he was unambitious, virtuous, and honor- 
able ; he had held the dictatorial power with rare prudence 
and justice, and had freely resigned it at the earliest possible 
period ; he was amiable and conciliatory in his measures ; he 
nourished no animosities, favored no factions, and sincerely 
loved liberty and his country. In addition to this he pos- 
sessed great talents, both civil and military. He deserves 
to some extent the epithet and glory of the Washington of 
the present century. 

Ledru Rollin was a person of superior ability. His chief 
merit was his eloquence as a revolutionary orator. During 
the stormy scenes of February he had taken the lead in the 
Assembly, and had given evidence of large capacity, of a 
liberal and daring policy, of great firmness, courage, and 
enthusiasm. He was interested in advancing the welfare of 
the populace ; he labored to improve the condition of the 
working- classes ; while at the same time, though he was 
aspiring and ambitious, he sincerely loved what he thought 
the true glory and felicity of France. He was the Mirabeau 
of his time ; and his public career has been terminated as 



OF NAPOLEON III. 125 

suddenly and prematurely, though not as tragically, as that 
of the Great Orator of the first revolution. 

With the character and history of Louis Napoleon, the 
French nation were already familiar. At that time it may 
be emphatically said that he represented only a Name. But 
that Name was deeply enshrined in the hearts of millions ; it 
was a souvenir of former scenes of national glory and gran- 
deur such as had no parallel in modern times ; and if it was 
a symbol of tyranny and blood, it was also one of order, 
security, and power. It was the greatest and brightest name 
in history ; it flattered the pride of France ; it was a name 
which must live forever. And he who had inherited this 
name had displayed at least a consciousness of his rights, a 
love of his native country, and an ardent desire to serve her. 
Whatever might be his supposed defects, these were no small 
or insignificant palliations of them. 

And now the time had come at last, when this man, so 
long persecuted, derided, and crushed,* should have a fair 
opportunity to redeem his fame and fortune. The lists 
of an immortal race had been opened, and he was ad- 
mitted among the number of the competitors. The propi- 
tious moment had at length arrived. The victor's crown 
might yet be his. The prayer of his dying mother, and the 
hope of the expiring conqueror, might yet be realized. And 
in that solemn hour of decisive destiny Louis Napoleon, for 
the first time, though not for the last, proved himself equal 
to the achievement of mighty deeds ; while his faithful con- 
federates sprang forward in myriads to accomplish the task 
before them, to labor with sleepless and incessant activity, to 
pervade all France with their endeavors and their vigilance, 
and thus to secure the proffered triumph. 

Never was a great crisis more admirably and industriously 
improved, for the accomplishment of an important result. 
The whole country was instantly flooded with innumerable 
busts, portraits, medals, and lithographs, some of which 
represented the fallen Emperor, and some his aspiring nephew. 
11* 



126 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Throughout all the cities, towns, and villages of France, 
pedlars sold these silent advocates of Napoleonism at nominal 
prices, and other emissaries gave them away ; while argu- 
ments, addresses, and appeals were employed, sometimes in 
public, sometimes in secret, to increase the popular excite- 
ment in the prince's behalf. Nor were his enemies idle. 
Satirical pamphlets and songs were printed and widely diffused. 
The utmost powers of ridicule were tried and exhausted ; and 
the unhappy "live eagle," which had figured so prominently 
and so ineffectually in the affair of Boulogne, became the 
theme of myriads of satires at the expense of the prince. 
Truth, decency, and propriety w^ere all outraged ; and even 
the prince's former connection with several females of ques- 
tionable character was exaggerated, perverted, censured and 
heralded forth. 

As the period of the election approached, the public ex- 
citement became more intense. General Cavaignac refused to 
publish any manifesto, rightly asserting that his official acts 
were a sufficient proclamation in his favor. The same course 
was pursued by Lamartine. Ledru Rollin and Raspail sent 
forth addresses filled with sonorous declarations of socialistic 
fury and absurdity. Louis Napoleon was strongly urged to 
prepare a clear and full declaration of his principles and pur- 
poses, as a reply to the innumerable calumnies with which he 
was assailed. He determined to do so, and published, on 
the 2*7th of November, a carefully written address to the 
French people, in which the following passages occur : 

"Whatever may be the result of the election, I shall bow 
to the will of the people ; and I pledge beforehand my co- 
operation with any strong and honest government which shall 
re-establish order in principles as well as in things ; which 
shall efficiently protect our religion, our families, and our pro- 
perties — the eternal bases of every social community ; which 
shall attempt all practicable reforms, assuage animosities, 
reconcile parties, and thus permit a country rendered uneasy 
by circumstances to count upon the morrow. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 121 

" To re-establish order is to restore confidence, to repair^ 
by means of credit, the temporary depreciation of resources, 
to restore the finances, and to revive commerce. 

" To protect religion and the rights of families is to insure 
the freedom of public worship and education. 

" To protect property is to maintain the inviolability of the 
fruits of every man's labor ; it is to guarantee the independ- 
ence and security of possession, the indispensable foundations 
for all civil liberties. 

''As to the reforms which are possible, the following are 
those which appear to me to be the most urgent : — 

" To adopt all those measures of economy which, without 
occasioning disorder in the public service, will permit of a 
reduction of those taxes which press most heavily on the 
people. 

"To encourage enterprises which, whilst they develop 
agricultural wealth, may, both in France and Algeria, give 
work to hands at present unoccupied. 

' ' To provide- for the relief of laborers in their old age, by 
means of provident institutions. 

"To introduce into our industrial laws ameliorations which 
may tend, not to ruin the rich for the gain of the poor, but to 
establish the well-being of each upon the prosperity of all. 

" To restrict, within just limits, the number of employments 
which shall depend on the government, and which often con- 
vert a free people into a nation of beggars. 

" To avoid that deplorable tendency which leads the state 
to do that which individuals may do as well, and better, for 
themselves ; the centralization of interests and enterprises is 
in the nature of despotism ; the nature of the republic rejects 
monopolies, 

' ' Finally, to protect the liberty of the press from the two 
excesses which always endanger it — that of arbitrary autho- 
rity on the one hand, and of its own licentiousness on the 
other. 



128 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

" With war we can have no relief to our ills. Peace, then, 
wonld be the dearest object of my desire. 

" France, at the time of her first revolution, was warlike, 
because others forced her to be so. Threatened with invasion, 
she replied by conquest. Xow she is not threatened, she is 
free to concentrate all her resources to pacific measures of 
amelioration, without abandoning a loyal and resolute policy. 

" A great nation ought to be silent, or never to speak in 
vain. 

" To have regard for the national dignity is to have regard 
for the army, whose patriotism, so noble and so disinterested, 
has been frequently neglected. 

"We ought, whilst we maintain the fundamental laws 
which are the strength of our military organization, to alle- 
viate, and not aggravate, the burden of the conscription. 

" TTe ought to take care of the present and future interests, 
not only of the officers, but likewise of the non-commissioned 
officers and privates, and prepare secure means of subsistence 
for men who have long served under our colors. 

•' The republic ought to be generous, and have faith in its 
future prospects ; and for my part, I, who have suffered exile 
and captivity, appeal with all my warmest aspirations to that 
day when the country may, without danger, put a stop to all 
proscriptions, and efface the last traces of our civil discords. 

" Such, my dear fellow-citizens, are the ideas which I 
should bring to bear upon the functions of government, if 
you were to call me to the presidency of the republic. 

" The task is a difficult one — the mission immense. I know 
it. But I should not despair of accomplishing it, inviting to 
my aid, without distinction of party, all men who, by their 
high intelligence or their probity, have recommended them- 
selves to the public esteem." 

At length the memorable 10th of December arrived. A 
bright clear sun shone on that day upon France. The whole 
nation marched quietly and soberly to the ballot-box ; or if 
any enthusiasm was displayed, there was no confusion nor 



OP NAPOLEON III. 129 

disturbance. The real fact was, that the French people may 
almost be said to have been of one mind. Louis Napoleon 
was elected President of the Republic by a prodigious ma- 
jority. He received 5,434,226 votes ; Cavaignac received 
1,448,107 votes; Ledru Rollin, 370,119 votes; Raspail, 
36,900; Lamartine, 17,910; Changarnier, 4,790. Thus, at 
last, after thirty-five long years of evil and misery, the son 
of Hortense had become the ruler of France ! 

On the 20th of December the new President was sworn 
into office in the presence of the Assembly. On the after- 
noon of that day, the chairman of the committee of thirty 
representatives who had been appointed to examine the 
returns, proceeded to read his report. Having given the 
details of the result, and informed the Assembly that Louis 
Napoleon had been elected President, General Cavaignac 
ascended the tribune and stated to them that the ministers 
who had constituted the Cabinet under his Dictatorship had 
all resigned. M. Marrast, the President of the Assembly, 
put the report of the committee to the vote ; when it was 
unanimously adopted. He then proceeded to say that the 
President elect would now be sworn into office. It was 
about five o'clock in the afternoon. The immense hall of 
the Assembly was growing obscure with the gathering shades 
of evening. The chandeliers were lowered and lighted. M. 
Marrast having at length made a signal, a door opened on the 
right, a man entered the hall, and rapidly ascended the tri- 
bune. He was dressed in black, and wore on his breast the 
badge of the Legion of Honor. The whole Assembly gazed 
upon him with intense interest. His face was pale and care- 
worn, his manner was hurried and confused, his attitude 
was timid and anxious. He was still comparatively young ; 
though his person bore the marks of time and suffering. This 
man was Louis Napoleon. 

The President of the Assembly then read in a loud and 
calm voice the following oath: "In the presence of God, 
and before the French people, represented by the National 

I 



130 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Assembly, I swear to remain faithful to the Democratic re- 
public, one and indivisible ; and to fulfil all the duties im- 
posed on me by the Constitution." Louis ]N"apoleon facing 
the Assembly, responded in a loud and firm tone : " I swear 
it." M. Marrast then added, rather obtrusively and unne- 
cessarily : " We take God and man to witness the oath which 
has now been sworn. The National Assembly adopts that 
oath, orders it to be recorded with the votes, to be printed in 
the Moniteur, and to be published in the same form and man- 
ner as the acts of the Legislature." The President of the 
Republic then delivered his inaugural address from a paper 
which he held in his hand. It was brief, and to the point ; 
containing in substance the same ideas which had been ex- 
pressed in his proclamation previous to the election. The 
President having concluded his speech descended from the 
tribune amid general and prolonged applause. 

The President of the Assembly then ordered the committee 
to conduct Louis Napoleon to the door of the Elysee Palace, 
which had been appointed for his residence. They passed 
between two lines of the National Guards until they reached 
the carriages provided for them. They then proceeded to 
the abode of the new "Chief of the Executive power," 
which the Assembly had designated as the "Legislative 
Palace." Thus ended the simple ceremonial connected with 
the inauguration of the first President of the Republic. 

Though Louis Napoleon found himself at last at the 
head of the government, his position was a very difficult one. 
He was called the President of a republic, but there was in 
reality no republic in existence. The French nation was 
nothing more nor less than a political chaos. It was divided 
into Legitimists, Orleanists, Revolutionists, Reactionists, 
Socialists, Red Republicans, and Communists ; and although 
the great majority of the people throughout the country had 
voted for Louis Napoleon, yet the leading politicians, the 
active motive power in the capital, were divided and sub- 
divided into the factions just named. The new constitution 



OF NAPOLEON III. 131 

had also been adopted in great haste, and was very imper- 
fect. The lines of distinction between the difi'erent branches 
of the government had not been drawn with sufficient clear- 
ness. Confusion and collision thence became inevitable. 
The President of the Republic had no power to dissolve one 
Assembly, and order another, that he might thereby obtain 
the meaning and learn the wishes of the nation. He was 
forbidden to command the army. His right to pardon, and 
to grant amnesties, was taken away. Everything had been 
done in the framing of the constitution to weaken the power 
of the chief officer of the government. 

It is apparent that, from the moment Louis Napoleon 
gained his election to the Presidency, he commenced to plot 
against the republic. His measures were all intended to cor- 
rupt the army, to purchase partisans in every class and rank, 
and gradually to concentrate all power and empire in him- 
self. This indeed was his professed destiny. This was true 
Napoleonism. Such was the course of conduct and policy 
which he had inherited with his name, his destiny and his 
hopes. The grand and imposing part of the drama of his 
life now really begins. 

His first act was to appoint his ministers. Odillon Barrot 
was made president of the cabinet, and Minister of Justice. 
The command of the army in Paris was entrusted to General 
Changarnier. M. de Maleville was Minister of the Interior. 
The very day after his inauguration Louis Napoleon displayed 
the firmness of his character by his proceedings in regard to 
the official documents which referred to the affairs of Stras- 
burg and Boulogne. These were contained in sixteen cases, 
which were deposited in the archives of the Ministry of the 
Interior. The president requested the Minister Maleville to 
send these to the Elysee, as soon as he took possession of his 
bureau. M. Maleville hesitated to comply with this request. 
He eluded the repeated demands of the president. The latter 
at length addressed the minister a letter containing such 
threats and such reproaches, that M. Maleville immediately 



132 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

resigned. Leon Faucbet was appointed to succeed liim, who 
proved more obedient and compliant with the demands of the 
president. 

Louis Napoleon soon found that the high seat which he 
had so long coveted, was not one of roses. His worst oppo- 
nents, the Red Kepublicans, were active in fomenting plots 
in the Assembly, with the press, and in the clubs. The last 
were particularly dangerous, insidious, and powerful. One 
of the first acts of Fouchet was to close these clubs. He 
brought forward a bill to that effect in the Assembly, and 
asserted and proved that under ''their dissolving action no 
regular government was possible." The proposition was vio- 
lently opposed by Ledru Rollin ; and he prevailed by a ma- 
jority of seventy-six. He then moved the impeachment of 
the ministry. This so disconcerted them that they proposed 
in a body to resign. But the president refused to accept 
their resignation ; and added : " Changarnier has received 
his orders ; the time of barricades is past." Louis Napoleon 
did not lose his presence of mind on this critical occasion ; 
but grasped the helm of state with a firm and resolute hand. 
The clubs of Paris grew more and more powerful every day. 
Their purposes and aims are thus described by one who was 
well qualified to judge of their real character :^ 

"Whilst sedition and conspiracy are allowed to muster in 
their recognized strongholds, the clubs of Paris, government 
of a stable and permanent nature, no matter what its form, is 
impossible in France. It is a patent fact, which no one de- 
nies, that the clubs of the French capital are not mere peace- 
ful assemblies from which resolutions embodying the senti- 
ments of the meeting, or petitions addressed to the legislature, 
emanate in a manner suitable to the modesty that ought to 
characterize memorials. It is not resolutions, but revolu- 
tions ; it is not petitions, but insurrections ; it is not ad- 

• See Napoleon III. ; Review of his Life, Character, and Policy, by a 
Briiish Officer: London, 1857, p. 182. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 133 

dresses, but barricades, which have systematically and noto- 
riously emanated from these clubs ever since their appearauce. 
They are sinks and pestholes from which an intermittent evil 
of incurable and fatal malignity has at frequent intervals, and 
with frightful precision, arisen and seized the body politic 
and the body social. This is a fact recorded in very legible 
characters of blood and devastation, and scarred and seared 
into the condition of France — scarred indeed, and seared so 
deeply, that through the sides of that tortured country all 
Europe has been marked and impressed with the signs thereof. 
Louis Napoleon practically experienced that he cannot carry 
on his government while these clubs are suffered to exist ; he 
probably sees also that no government could be carried on 
which sanctioned obstructions so systematic and so formidable 
in its own path," 

Nor was this dangerous socialistic excitement confined to 
Paris. Seditions occurred at Metz, at Perpignan, and else- 
where. These, however, were soon suppressed by the mili- 
tary. The great conflict which was gradually approaching 
was between the president and the hostile factions in the 
capital. On the 29th of January the drums beat to arms in 
Paris. It was not yet the coup d'etat; it was only some 
precautionary movements occasioned by a disturbance among 
the Garde Mobile. To restore public confidence the presi- 
dent performed an act of superior courage. He mounted his 
horse, and attended by a few cuirassiers, he boldly rode up 
and down the boulevards, to view in person the progress of 
the commotion. This bold act restored public confidence 
and public order. He was greeted with enthusiastic shouts 
of applause ; and no further demonstration of disaffection 
was then made. by the chief malcontents — the Red Re- 
publicans. 

But the Red Republicans were not the only conspirators in 

the capital. All the other factions, and especially the Bour- 

bonists, were intensely active. Their purpose was first to 

crush the Republicans, and after them, the Bonapartists, in 

12 



134 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

order to prepare the way for the Count de Chambord, or the 
Count of Paris. One of the chief annoyances of the Presi- 
dent was the opposition to his measures which he constantly 
encountered in the Assembly. The utmost violence charac- 
terized many of the debates. It was with great difficulty that 
the Executive could obtain the legislative sanction to the 
most necessary and salutary propositions. 

In February, 1849, the attention of Prance and of Europe 
was attracted by the sudden proclamation of a Republic in 
Rome. This result had been brought about by the imbecile 
policy pursued by Pius IX., who ascended the papal throne 
on the 16th of June, 1846. His measures of reform, in which 
he persisted for eighteen months, were intended to establish 
in the Roman States a representative form of government. 
But his partial improvements were offensive to the conserva- 
tives, while they utterly failed to satisfy the liberals. Rome 
became the resort and refuge of immense crowds of Italian, 
German, and French revolutionists, of the Red Republican 
school, whose agitations rendered the state of affairs more 
desperate. Rossi, the Pope's Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
was assassinated in open day. The mob surrounded and 
besieged the Pope's residence, and compelled him to accept 
a ministry of their own appointment. Pius IX. at length 
fled to Gaeta. Mazzini, and the Prince of Canino, son of 
Lucien Bonaparte, then formed a provisional government, 
proclaimed the Republic of Rome and the downfall of the 
temporal power of the Pope. 

The French government determined to interfere. The ex- 
pedition to Civita Yecchia was resolved upon. General 
Oudinot was sent with four thousand troops, and was ordered 
to invest the city of Rome. These troops were attacked by 
the revolutionists who then held possession of the city, and 
the French were routed. Subsequently, General Oudinot re- 
ceived the necessary reinforcements, and he was ordered 
by the President to prepare to renew the attack on the 
Eternal City. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 135 

Meanwhile the elections were held throughout France, on 
the 13th of May, 1849, for the new legislative Assembly. 
The Red Republicans had greatly increased in strength. 
Nearly two hundred representatives ranged themselves on 
their benches. Ledru Rollin had been returned by five de- 
partments. He was elated beyond measure with this success, 
and repeatedly exclaimed : " In a month I shall either be 
dictator or shot !" The debates in the Assembly again ex- 
hibited the utmost violence and fury. On the Tth of June, 
Louis Napoleon sent in his Message, which marked the com- 
mencement of the second year of his incumbency. In this 
document he set forth what his labors and endeavors had been 
during the preceding year, and what his plans and wishes 
were for the future. 

This address produced a favorable impression throughout 
Prance ; but in the Assembly it was furiously attacked by the 
Mountain, headed by Ledru Rollin. He also accused the 
President and his ministers of having violated the fifth article 
of the Constitution, by sending forth the expedition to Rome. 
The excitement which prevailed in the Assembly was soon 
transformed into a popular tumult in the streets. On the 
18th, proclamations appeared in the Red Republican jour- 
nals, announcing that the people should on that day rise and 
overturn the government. Yast crowds again assembled in 
the streets, bearing flags and mottoes of a revolutionary cha- 
racter. But before their violence could lead to any definite 
results-, they were attacked by some battalions of troops 
under General Changarnier, and immediately dispersed. The 
leaders of the insurrection, the chief of whom were Ledru 
Rollin and M. Considerant, the Socialist, had assembled in 
the Observatory to form a Provisional Government. They 
were suddenly compelled to make their escape through a 
window. They fled to England ; their confederates were 
dispersed and vanquished; the new "Provisional Govern- 
ment" perished in its birth ; and by four o'clock in the after- 
noon the capital — the most excitable and frantic in the 



136 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

world, — was again tranquil and quiescent. On the same 
day that Louis Napoleon achieved this victory in Paris, 
General Oudinot again attacked Rome ; he obtained com- 
plete possession of it, overturned the Roman Republic, and 
re-established the papal authority. Mazzini and Garibaldi, 
in their turn, fled for safety to England ; there to condole with 
the exiled Ledru Rollin and Considerant. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 131 



CHAPTER IX. 

Louis Napoleon in the Workshops of Paris — Incidents and Escapes — 
His Tour through the Provinces — Committee of Permanence — Decree 
permitting the Return of the Bourbons — The President's Letter to 
Colonel Ney — Duel between Thiers and Bixio — Victor Hugo's Hos- 
tility to the President — New Ministers appointed — Sudden growth 
of Socialism — Election of Representatives — The law of Universal 
Suffrage — Increasing Hostility of the Assembly to the President — 
Increase of the President's Salary — His Second Tour through the 
Provinces — Hostility of Changarnier to the President — The Reviews 
at Satory — Conspiracy to Arrest the President — The False Message 
— The Revision of the Constitution discussed — The President's 
Speech at Dijon — Universal Suffrage again discussed — New Cabinet 
of the President — State of France — Approach of the Decisive 
Moment for Action. 

The President of the Republic did not forget to practice 
all those conciliatory arts by which he might gain the confi- 
dence and esteem of the working-classes. It was frequently 
his custom to leave his palace, accompanied only by a young 
officer named Fleury, and traverse on foot the faubourg St. 
Antoine, and others of the poorest and most miserable 
quarters of Paris. He entered the workshops, conversed 
with the foremen, heard their complaints, and sympathized 
with the deprivations and sufferings of those sons and daugh- 
ters of toil. Sometimes he went incognito, sometimes he 
gave his name ; but in most instances his conversation and his 
generosity revealed the mystery before he took his departure. 

On one occasion he entered a manufactory of wall-paper. 
He knew that all the workmen employed in it were Republi- 
cans of the ultra-stamp, and belonged to secret societies. 
He was immediately recognized, and was received very coldly. 
The walls were covered with all kinds of placards, clearly 
indicative of the extreme radicalism of the inmates. The 
12* 



138 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. HISTORY 

President endeavored to engai^e some of the men in kindly 
conversation. He found tliera reserved and hostile. By dint 
of perseverance, however, he at length succeeded in drawing 
them out; when they confessed that the revolution of 1848 
had essentially injured their business. He then said in reply : 
" We must have a little patience. I promise you a decided 
improvement before the end of the year. I am endeavoring 
to give an impulse to the building business, which will animate 
and improve yours." He gradually gained their confidence, 
and the wives, sisters, and children of the men in the neigh- 
borhood, hearing of his presence, ran to see him. Before he 
left the place he had rendered himself the general favorite by 
his affability, his liberality, and the interest which he displayed 
in the welfare of the workmen. Such events took place fre- 
quently, and their iufluence on the public mind was by no 
means inconsiderable. 

On the particular occasion just referred to, the President 
perceived a young man who kept himself haughtily apart, as 
if unwilling to be obliged to show any politeness. Louis 
Napoleon beckoned him to approach. The man colored, 
hesitated an instant, and then slowly advanced. He had a 
wooden leg. 

"You have served in Africa?" asked the prince. The 
young man bit his lips, and made no reply. 

''Ah, it is the etfect of an accident then," said Louis Na- 
poleon, regretting to have embarrassed him by asking him to 
declare the cause of an infirmity which his silence plainly 
enough referred to the unfortunate days of June. "How 
old are you ?" 

" Twenty-six, and I have a mother to support.'' 

Here an old lady, neatly but plainly dressed, forced her 
way through the throng. 

" My prince," said she, with simplicity, " I am his mother. 
He is not a bad boy, only they have put such ugly notions 
into his head " 

"But he supports you with his labor," interrupted Louis 



OF NAPOLEON III. 139 

Xapoleoii, to prevent her going farther. '' Have you no other 
resources, madam ?" 

" Mj poor husband was killed in those affairs of June," 
she replied, wiping her eyes. 

" That horrible battle of June has had many victims," said 
Louis Napoleon, unwilling to carry on further conversation 
with a woman whom he took for the widow of an insuro-ent. 

"My husband did his duty," she added, sobbing. "He 
was serving in the Republican Guards when he fell to rise no 
more, at the attack of the great barricade of the Faubourg." 

" Your husband died in the ranks ? Was he an old 
soldier ?" 

" Thirty years in the service, my prince." 

*' Commandant Fleury, take the name and address of this 
brave woman. This affair must be looked into. It is only 
just that the State adopt the children of its defenders. 
What of your son ?" 

"0 Monseigneur," cried the widow, "when my husband 
received the ball, my son was at the other side of the barri- 
cade !" 

" Well, he received a ball too, and that has not been his 
greatest punishment. But everything is forgotten except the 
services of your husband. I shall remember them.^' 

He had left the building when he heard a commotion in 
the crowd behind him. Turning, he perceived the old lady 
leading forward her son by the hand. 

" prince, pardon him, " she exclaimed. " You have cor- 
rected him. He is ashamed of what he has done. It was 
all 'bad advice. He had threatened, the unhappy boy, to do 
you an injury, and now he is ready to die for you." 

The President kept his word with the poor woman, and paid 
her a pension from his private purse. 

The President carefully employed every other opportunity 
to win the favor and applause of the populace. The inaugu- 
ration of the railroads, and the festivals which attended these 
events, furnished him with appropriate occasions of this 



140 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

description. His speeches were short and to the purpose ; 
they flew with rapidity over France, and found a willing echo 
in myriads of hearts. At Chartres, at Amiens, at Ham, his 
former prison, at Angers, at Tours, at Rouen, at Elbeuf, at 
Epernay, and elsewhere, his presence, his demeanor, and his 
addresses gained him great popularity, and the more general 
confidence of the nation. The enemies who obstructed his 
pathway to the supreme power, were not among the nation, 
but in the Assembly. 

Dnring the summer of 1849 the cholera raged in Paris, 
and some distinguished men, occupying prominent and im- 
portant positions, fell victims to its fury. The Assembly 
resolved to adjourn, in consequence of the epidemic, from the 
loth of August to the 1st of October; but before so doing 
they appointed a Committee of Permanence, consisting of 
twenty-five members who, during the interval, should perform 
all the legislative functions. 

On the 1st of October the Assembly again convened. The 
first proposition which was made after the opening of the 
session was to annul the decree which interdicted the return 
of the Bourbon family to France. In reference to this pro- 
position the President sent word, that he had no objection to 
it whatever, provided the same favor was extended to the 
insurgents of June, who had been punished and transported 
without judgment. Before this matter was decided, the 
attention of the Assembly was attracted and absorbed by 
another of greater moment. During the popular revolution 
at Rome, already referred to, Louis Napoleon had written a 
letter to Colonel Ney, his orderly officer in that city, which 
had given offence to many persons of influence in France. 
M. Fallaux, the minister of public instruction, thinking that the 
contents of the letter were prejudicial to the interests of the 
Church of Pome, resigned. The leaders of the " Order 
party" in Paris now insisted that the ministers of Louis Na- 
poleon should disavow that letter. This proposition placed 
those officers in a difficult and unpleasant position ; for they 



OF NAPOLEON III. 141 

wished neither to offend the President nor the Assembly. On 
the 18th of October the matter was brought up for discussion 
in that body. During the excited debate which ensued, 
MM. Thiers and Bixio became involved in a personal dispute. 
Bixio asserted that Thiers had said the election of Louis 
Napoleon, as President, was a disgrace to France, Thiers 
denied the accusation. Bixio persisted in it. The conse- 
quence was that the two representatives retired to engage 
immediately in mortal combat. They fired two rounds, but 
took care that nobody should be hurt. At length Bixio said 
to his opponent : " It is possible you may have forgotten, and 
hence it is only a matter of 'memory.''^ Thiers retorted on 
Bixio: "You may have misunderstood me, and hence it is 
only a matter of interpretation.''^ The combatants advanced, 
shook hands cordially, and returned arm in arm to the 
Assembly ! 

This day and this debate marked the commencement of the 
implacable hostility of Yictor Hugo to Louis Napoleon, 
whom he has ever since stigmatized as "Napoleon the Little." 
He had previously been the friend of the President, and his 
apostasy can only be accounted for on the supposition that 
he had been disappointed in not receiving the appointment 
of Minister of Public Instruction. It is also asserted that 
the President said, sarcastically : " M. Yictor Hugo addresses 
me always with a very patronizing air. I could easily under- 
stand the reason of this, if I made verses and wrote pieces 
for the theatre !" Whatever may have been the real cause, 
the great poet, on this occasion, ascended the tribune and 
delivered himself of a long excited speech, violently abusive 
of the President. He was loudly cheered by the Mountain, 
who were in raptures at the acquisition of so distinguished 
and so able a confederate. The debate, however, ended in a 
vote of four hundred and sixty-nine in favor of the President, 
and one hundred and eighty against him. 

Yet Louis Napoleon was determined to dismiss his minis- 
ters, and to appoint new ones. He had found the former not 



142 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

sufficiently obsequious and compliant with his measures, and 
he had resolved to procure more supple tools. A list of these 
appeared in the evening Moniteur of the very day on which 
the dismissal took place. The president of the new cabinet 
was Ferdinand Barrot, the distinguished advocate, and bro- 
ther of Odillon. His nature was more manageable than that 
of his predecessor and relative. This independent method 
of changing the ministers without in the least degree consult- 
ing the wishes of the Assembly, offended that body. Yet his 
majority there was still overwhelming ; and with cabinet 
officers who were obedient to his will, he felt himself in pos- 
session of a greater accession of power, and able more fully 
to execute his purposes, and concentrate his energies. 

On the 10th of March, 1850, an election of representatives 
was to take place in France. Trouble and disorder were an- 
ticipated. Two agitated years of the President's term had 
now transpired, during which his superior administrative 
abilities began to shine forth. But as yet the field in which 
he was compelled to exercise them, was of a more obscure 
character, that of resistance to faction, the removal and sup- 
pression of discontent, and the husbanding of his resources 
for the great day of decisive destiny which was approaching 
in the distance. 

The most remarkable feature which, during the year 
1849, characterized the public sentiment in France, was the 
sudden and prodigious growth of Socialism. This was es- 
pecially true of the eastern and central provinces ; and it 
was a matter of great uncertainty whether, at the ensuing 
election, the triumph of that faction in the Assembly might 
not be complete and overwhelming. To avoid popular 
tumults and an appeal to arms, the President issued a decree 
dividing the country into five great military commands, and 
placing each division of the army under generals, of whose 
devotion and fidelity he had the most satisfactory proof. 

The 10th of March arrived, and the excitement iu Paris 
was intense. Thirty representatives were to be elected 



OF NAPOLEON III. 143 

throughout the country ; and of these, three were to be chosen 
by the capital. Here there were but three parties, the party 
of order, the Bonapartists, and the Socialists. The latter 
triumphed, and their candidates, MM. De Flotte, Yidal, and 
Carnot, were chosen by a large majority. Yidal had also 
been elected by the department of the Upper Rhine. He now 
made his election serve for that department ; which thus ren- 
dered a new election in Paris necessary. The consequence 
was that Eugene Sue, the novelist, was chosen by the Socialist 
faction, and received a hundred and twenty-six thousand 
votes. But throughout the departments the majority was 
greatly in favor of the opponents of the Socialists. 

The first measure proposed in the Assembly, after the elec- 
tion, was the abrogation of the great law of universal suf- 
frage. After a long and animated debate, it was decreed 
that no citizen should enjoy the right of suffrage who had not 
lived three years in the commune for which he appeared ; and 
the evidence of such residence was to be the regular insertion 
of the name of the voter in the tax-book during that period 
of time. The President qualified his approval of the mea- 
sure by saying : "I am willing that there should be a tem- 
porary suspension of the right of universal suJBfrage. In an 
urgent crisis, the law can suspend a right. But it can never 
abrogate or annul it. Universal suffrage must be restored 
as soon as circumstances permit." The law was passed by 
a majority of two hundred and fifty, and the President signed 
the bill. 

The object thus aimed at by the abolition of universal suf- 
frage was twofold. It was intended by the party of order, 
the Bourbonists and Orleanists, to prevent the re-election of 
Louis Napoleon to the Presidency, and also to crush the 
growing power of the Socialists. The President, neverthe- 
less, signed the decree without hesitation. He knew full 
well that the time for decisive action on his part had not 
yet arrived ; and he also knew that the constant vacillation 
of public sentiment in France might, and probably would 



144 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

reverse what had just been decreed, before the lapse of any 
very long period of time. 

This was the last occasion upon which the President of 
the Kepublic and the Assembly agreed upon the adoption of 
any public measure. There were elements of opposition in 
that body to the chief of the State, which must sooner or 
later result in decisive hostility. An inevitable collision im- 
pended between them. Bourbonists and Orleanists formed 
at length a predominating element in the Assembly. The 
former urged the claims of the Count de Chambord ; the 
latter supported the pretensions of the Count de Paris. The 
Socialists were opposed both to the Bonapartists and the 
other two factions ; but were still in a minority to each of 
them. Louis Napoleon possessed one great advantage in 
dealing with this Assembly. It was emphatically a house 
divided against itself. 

The conduct of Louis Napoleon as President of the Ke- 
public had thus far disappointed and surprised every class 
and faction in the State. His own partisans were delighted 
with the sagacity, ability and energy with which he admin- 
istered the government. The Bourbonists and Orleanists, as 
well as the Bed Republicans and Socialists, were astonished 
and offended by the same cause. These parties now com- 
bined against the President in the Assembly, and endeavored 
by their united opposition to impede, embarrass, and even to 
crush his measures. They were determined to prevent him 
from winning greater popularity by obtaining greater suc- 
cess. This antagonism between the Executive and the 
Legislative branches of the government began to ruin the 
interests of France ; and this very antagonism, which became 
greater from day to day, is the key to the subsequent events, 
and especially to the coup d^etat, which eventually placed 
liouis Napoleon on an imperial throne. 

The first display of this organized opposition was made on 
the 4th of June. On that day M. Achille Fould, the Minister 
of Finance, offered a motion in the Assembly to augment the 



OP NAPOLEON III. 145 

salary of the President to two hundred and fifty thousand 
francs per month. The experience of several years had proved 
that the original salary of six hundred thousand francs per 
year was utterly insufficient for the necessities of the Presi- 
dency. This demand drew forth the most bitter opposition. 
In vain the Minister of Finance explained the infinite number 
of calls for aid which had been made upon the chief of the 
state. "Do we wish to know," said he, "who were those 
beggars whom the socialist journals treated with such contempt ? 
They were not only the old soldiers of the empire, veteran 
warriors that had shed their blood on every battle-field in 
Europe ; these were only a small part of the number ; they 
were benevolent and charitable societies, who solicited the 
President for a penny to relieve abandoned children and sick 
tradesmen ; they were clergymen, who went about questing 
in behalf of their falling church and impoverished dioceses ; 
they were artists, composers, men of letters, who asked the 
head of the state to subscribe to their works-, to their concerts, 
to their pictures, to their statues; they were prefects, mayors, 
who thought they were honoring the President by asking him 
for his name among the subscribers to monuments that were 
to perpetuate the great recollections of our history ; they 
were antiquated functionaries, widows, old state-servants, who 
wanted a morsel of bread. This list, lamentably long, com- 
prised pensioners of the old civil list, chevaliers of St. Louis, 
and lastly many political criminals, and even a near relative 
of Mazzini ! " 

At last, after a long and bitter contest, the law passed by 
a small majority of forty-six. During August and September 
of the year 1850, the Assembly again adjourned, having 
first appointed a Committee of Permanence, composed of 
twenty-five members, who should exercise the legislative 
functions during the vacation. Out of this whole number, 
Odillon Barrot was the only member who was not opposed 
personally and politically to the President of the Republic. 
This significant incident shows the existing state of parties. 
13 K 



146 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

On the 12th of August Louis Napoleon again commenced 
to make a tour through France. His journey continued during 
a month. On this occasion he may truly be said to have 
placed his hand upon the heart of the nation, and felt its 
free pulsations. Everywhere he was greeted by the popu- 
lace with applause. He spoke at the various banquets which 
were offered him. At Lyons especially, his speech was full 
of significant and suggestive remarks, which created a deep 
impression throughout the nation. He there asserted that 
he was not the representative of a party, but the representa- 
tive of the great national manifestations which, in 1804 and 
in 1848, saved, by the establishment of order, the great prin- 
ciples of the French revolution. He called himself the "Elect 
of six millions," and declared that he knew how to serve 
France in any capacity in which she demanded his services. 
He may be said at this time and on this occasion to have pre- 
dicted the coup d'etat ; for speaking of the hostile factions 
he used this expressive language: "2 shall hnow how to 
reduce these factions to impotence, by again invoking the 
sovereignty of the people.'''' 

On his return to Paris, after the termination of his tour, 
Louis Napoleon found another foe, of no inconsiderable con- 
sequence, arrayed against him. This was General Changar- 
nier, a violent Orleanist, who had distinguished himself by 
some victories in Algiers, and also by his conduct in the sup- 
pression of the riots in June, 1849. He was now commander- 
in-chief of the National Guards, and of the army of Paris. 
He was a man of ability, but exceedingly ambitious and 
Impracticable in his character. He had assumed, and had 
almost attained, the position and influence of a third power 
in the state, and he claimed to be equal in importance to the 
President or the Assembly. The Legitimists supported him 
in his aims and measures, hoping thereby eventually to crush 
the President. He was then secretly using his utmost endea- 
vors to gain over the army of Paris, and to alienate it from 
the Executive. The contest between the two rivals first broke 



OF NAPOLEON III. 147 

forth publicly in reference to the respective jurisdictions of 
the Minister of War and Changarnier, as to whom the supreme 
control of the army belonged. The result of this dispute 
was, that the President took the side of his minister ; and 
that Changarnier immediately formed a secret conspiracy to 
arrest, impeach, and depose the President. While this con- 
spiracy was maturing, some military reviews were held at 
Sartory, at which the commander-in-chief endeavored to sup- 
press the shouts of Vive Napoleon! and Vive le Pi-esiderd! 
which resounded along the ranks. At a second review, the 
shouts, in spite of the prohibition, were louder than ever, and 
Vive VEmpereurl — an ominous and horrible sound to the 
factions — was then added to the rest. The Committee of 
Permanence, at their next meeting, discussed with great bit- 
terness the occurrence of these shouts. General Changarnier, 
who was also a prominent member of the committee, became 
involved in a personal dispute with M. D'Hautpoul, the 
Minister of War, which greatly increased the existing bitter- 
ness. The conspiracy against the President progressed, and 
the plan adopted was as follows : The chief members of the 
Committee of Permanence were to draw up an act accusing 
the President of exceeding his powers, of attempting to change 
the form of government, and usurping the sovereign authority. 
This act was to be handed to M. Dupin, the President of the 
Assembly, who was also to sign it. It was then to be given 
to General Changarnier, who was to arrest Louis Napoleon 
and confine him in prison. The general was then to assume 
a dictatorship until the Assembly had approved of what had 
been done. He would then order an appeal to the people, 
the majority of whom, as was supposed, would decree the 
restoration of the dynasty of Louis Philippe. It is asserted 
that this act w^as really prepared and signed, and handed to 
M. Dupin ; but that he, finding his coura^ fail him, kept 
the important document in his pocket, until other decisive 
events rendered the execution of the plot impossible. 

On the 10th of November, 1850, the President sent in his 



148 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

annual message to the Assembly. This document contained 
a narrative of the proceedings of the Executive during the 
preceding year, and a description of the then existing state 
of France, and of the government. An amusing incident 
occurred in reference to this message. On the morning in 
vi'hich it was sent to the Assembly, a long document appeared 
in the cohimns of the Presse, purporting to be that message. 
This allegation was false ; but the singularity of the document 
was, that every word of it was taken from the various pro- 
ductions of the President of previous dates. It was com- 
posed of separate sentences, which being collected together 
like a mosaic, uttered sentiments which he once professed, but 
which were widely different from those expressed in the 
genuine message ! Such a jest was Parisian in the extreme. 
The public at first were startled ; they then roared with 
laughter. The joke was a serious one to the editor of the 
Presse. He was arrested, tried, convicted, and punished, 
for having " published false intelligence of a nature calculated 
to disturb the public tranquility." 

The hostility between the President and General Changar- 
nier increased. The Assembly continually endeavored to 
crush all the movements of the President, and Changarnier, 
the third power in the State, now sided with the Assembly. 
That body decreed that they possessed supreme control over 
the army. The Minister of War immediately resigned, as he 
thought his jurisdiction was taken from him by the passage 
of that decree. His resignation was accepted ; and at the 
same instant the President boldly determined to exercise the 
extreme limit of his authority and dismiss Changarnier from 
his post as Commander-in-chief. This dismissal fell like a 
thunder-bolt upon the opposing factions, and- upon the 
astounded general himself. Generals Perrot and D'Hilliers 
were a],)pointed in his place. The Assembly revenged itself 
for this decisive act by decreeing that Changarnier still 
retained unimpaired the confidence of the legislature and of 



OF NAPOLEON III. 149 

the nation, and passed a resolution of want of confidence in 
the ministry. 

The cabinet immediately resigned. The President selected 
a new ministry, composed of men of neither party, who were 
not even members of the National Assembly. In this policy 
he displayed his great independence and self-reliance. But 
his position was rapidly becoming one of extreme difficulty 
and danger. The secret conspiracy against him, of which 
Changarnier was the head, acquired increased bitterness and 
energy by the dismissal of that officer. The opposition to 
him in the Assembly was becoming more and more deter- 
mined. Every day the wheels of government were approach- 
ing nearer to a dead lock ; and the responsibility of such a 
horrid crisis of anarchy and ruin would be thrown by the 
concurrent voices of the factions on the President. But 
Louis Napoleon possessed the confidence of the nation openly, 
and of the army secretly ; and the time was rapidly approach- 
ing when he must either yield ignobly, and be crushed forever 
beneath the endeavors of his embittered foes, or else he must 
save himself from ruin by some great act of desperate energy, 
resolution, and power, by which his enemies would be over- 
thrown, and he be rescued, while at the same time he retained 
the esteem and the confidence of the nation. 

In May, 1851, the attention of the nation was for a time 
engaged in observing the revision of the new Constitution by 
the Assembly. The French people desired the alteration of 
that Constitution, which was one of the most feeble and absurd 
which was ever devised. It was confused and possessed 
neither solidity nor compactness. It had not clearly defined 
the functions and the jurisdictions of the several branches of 
the government ; and its operation had been most inefficient 
and pernicious. 

On the 1st of June Louis Napoleon delivered a speech at 

the opening of the railroad at Dijon. His progress through 

the country was in fact a public triumph ; and shouts of Vive 

VEmpereur greeted him at every station, and in every town 

13* 



150 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

and village. In his address at Dijon he again vindicated his 
measures and purposes, and again intimated that he should 
appeal to the voice of the nation when the appropriate crisis 
arrived. He declared that a new era was approaching, when 
France would not permit either the return of the ancient 
regime, nor the experiment of new and dangerous Utopias. 
In other words, he clearly intimated that the re-establishment 
of the Empire could alone save the country from ruin. 

A few days afterward this celebrated speech was discussed 
in the Assembly with great violence. All the factions con- 
demned it ; but it elevated its author very highly in the esti- 
mation of the whole nation. Innumerable petitions were 
sent in to the Assembly requesting that when the revision of 
the Constitution took place, the period of the Presidency of 
Louis Napoleon should be prolonged to ten years. 

At length, on the 14th of July, the discussions on the re- 
vision began in the Assembly. The Bourbonists and Orlean- 
ists argued in favor of a total revision. The Red Repub- 
licans or Socialists were opposed to any revision whatever. 
The Bonapartists desired that the forty-fifth article, which 
forbade the re-election of Louis Napoleon, should alone be 
altered. When the final vote was taken, four hundred and 
forty-six representatives voted in favor of the revision, and 
two hundred and seventy-eight voted against it. But the 
Constitution itself had provided that five hundred votes at 
least should be given in favor of revision, before a revision 
could take place. Hence the Constitution remained unaltered. 
This result had been produced by a union between all the 
factions which were opposed to the continuation of the au- 
thority of Louis Napoleon beyond the duration of his first 
term of four years. 

After the usual recess which took place during the summer 
of 1851, the Assembly again convened. One of the first 
measures offered to the consideration of the legislature, was 
the repeal of the law suppressing universal suffrage. The 
ministers proposed an act giving the right to vote to each 



OF NAPOLEON III. 151 

Frenchman who was twenty-one years of age, and who had 
resided six months in the same commune. The struggle in 
the Assembly was very violent. After a long debate, and 
the utmost exertions on each side, the law was rejected by a 
majority only of three. Louis Napoleon, though disap- 
pointed at this result, was not disconcerted. He had deter- 
mined to grasp the imperial diadem ; he had not relinquished 
his purpose ; he was compelled merely to change his tactics. 
After this defeat of the President, his leading ministers 
resigned. The new cabinet consisted of Leroy St. Arnaud, 
a general who had obtained some distinction in Algiers, and 
whom we shall again meet on another field of military glory, 
as Minister of War ; M. de Maupas, late Prefect of Haute 
Garonne, became Minister of Police ; M. Thorigny was 
Minister of the Interior. The President now summoned to 
his most secret councils De Morny, Magnan, and Persigny, 
men whose fame and fortunes have become inseparably con- 
nected with his own. He clearly perceived that the' great 
crisis was approaching ; that the country was becoming more 
and more agitated and uneasy ; that all the operations of 
government, by no fault of his, were impeded, confused, and 
inefficient ; that his enemies were secretly preparing to con- 
summate the conspiracy against his authority, his liberty, and 
even against his life ; that the opposing factions were already 
discussing the nomination of his successors, among whom 
were Changarnier, Ledru Rollin, Cavaignac, Carnot, the 
Prince de Joinville, and La Rochejaquelein ; that in some 
departments of France, such as Nievre, Allier, and Cher, 
the desperate populace were marching through the country 
threatening pillage and conflagration ; in a word, that both 
the security and prosperity of France, as well as his own 
rescue from destruction demanded that, at that moment, the 
last decisive blow should be struck. He now braced him- 
self to the performance of the great deed ; and never was an 
act on which the future fate of millions depended, executed 
with more energy, sagacity, and resolution. 



152 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



CHAPTER X. 

The Coup d'Eiat — Ball at the Ely see Palace — Louis Napoleon in his 
Cabinet — Printing of the Proclamations — Their Distribution through- 
out the Capital — Simultaneous Arrest of the chief Enemies of the 
President — The Soldiers take possession of the Hall of the Assembly 

— Fragments of the Assembly convene elsewhere — Events of Wed- 
nesday — Preparations for Thursday — Appearance of Paris on Thurs- 
day — The Military — The Barricades — Massacres in the Streets — 
Rout of the Insurgents — Defeat of the Red Republicans — Number 
of Killed and Wounded — Louis Napoleon's Proclamation — The 
General Election — The President's Active Measures — The Results of 
the Ballots — Louis Napoleon President for Ten Years — Te Deum — 
The President Removes to the Tuilleries — His subsequent Proceed- 
ings — General Changarnier — Cavaignac — Lamorici^re — General Leflo 

— General Bedeau — La Grange — M. Grippo — Colonel Charras — 
M. Roger (du Nord) — M. Baze — M. Thiers — The Consternation of 
the Historian of the Revolution, The Consulate and the Empire. 

We have now arrived at an achievement in the life of this 
remarkable man, which displays such superior ability aad 
resolution on his part, as to redeem his fame from all the 
obloquy and ridicule with which the abortive conspiracies of 
Strasburg and Boulogne had loaded it. Other great aspi- 
rants after supreme power have also failed in their first 
endeavors, who afterward succeeded in the attempt, and their 
names have long been inscribed on the rolls of immortality. 
Such were Pisistratus, the tyrant of Athens, and Dionysius, 
the tyrant of Syracuse. And in the same admired catalogue 
of bold and gifted adventurers, the pen of history will hence- 
forth forever inscribe the name of Louis Napoleon. 

On Monday evening, December 1st, 1851, a gay and 
elegant assemblage occupied the gilded saloons of the palace 
of the Elys^e. It was one of the weekly receptions which 
the President of the Republic gave to the fashionable world 



OF NAPOLEON III. 153 

of Paris. He himself, on that occasion, mingled among the 
throng with the same air of self-possessed and quiet ease 
which usually characterized him. No observer who at that 
moment scrutinized his marble countenance, would for a mo- 
ment have suspected that Louis Napoleon then stood over a 
suppressed volcano, which in a few hours was to break forth 
with prodigious violence ; whose energies would, unless skil- 
fully and successfully directed, involve him in inevitable ruin. 
But such was the fact. That night was the eve of one of the 
most decisive and important events in modern history ; and 
he who had long planned its details in secret, who had antici- 
pated and guarded every possible contingency, who was about 
to strike a desperate blow which would secure him either an 
imperial diadem or an ignominious scaffold, was as calm, to 
all outward seeming, as a sleeping infant ! 

At midnight the company disappeared, and the arch-con- 
spirator withdrew to his secret cabinet. He was accompanied 
only by M. Mocquard, his private secretary. In a short 
time three persons were admitted. These were M. de Per- 
signy, General St. Arnaud, and M. de Morny, the step-bro- 
ther of the President, an illegitimate son of Queen Hortense. 
These were the three chief confederates of the President in 
the planning and execution of the coup cfetat. This was 
their last conference before the blow was struck. Some im- 
portant details yet remained to be completed during the hours 
of that night, which were entrusted to their hands. After 
some consultation, the prince, taking a small key which was 
suspended from his watch-guard, opened the drawer of a 
bureau, and gave to each of his chief accomplices a sealed 
packet. These packets contained their last written instruc- 
tions. Then shaking each one by the hand, he dismissed 
them to their respective posts of duty. 

Paris during that night reposed in her usual tranquility. 
The gay myriads who reveled in her stately dwellings, and 
the unhappy and dependent multitudes who crowded her 
humbler abodes, slept or waked apprehensive of no change. 



154 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

While they slumbered the conspirators were busy. M. de 
Bevijle, an orderly sergeant of the President, proceeded in a 
carriage at one o'clock to the government printing-office, 
superintended by M. Georges, for the purpose of having the 
proclamations printed. He had previously informed Georges 
that some important work was to be done that night, and had 
instructed him to have his workmen in their places. The 
manuscript proclamations were immediately put into their 
hands, and in an hour the printing was completed. Mean- 
while, however, the printing office had been quietly surrounded 
by a guard, the doors locked, and no one permitted to leave 
until next morning. Seville then distributed the proclama- 
tions to trusty posters, employed by M. Maupas, the Chief 
of Police, for that purpose. In an hour every prominent 
place in the capital was plastered over with proclamations. 
One of these was a decree which announced that the National 
Assembly was dissolved, that universal suffrage was re-estab- 
lished, that the Council of State was dismissed, that the first 
military division was placed in a state of siege, and that the 
French people were convoked for their votes from the 14th to 
the 21st of December. Another proclamation was addressed 
to the army, which was well adapted to win their adhesion 
to the cau§e of the usurper. The third proclamation was 
addressed to the nation, in which the President set forth the 
anarchy and imbecility of the government, resulting from the 
hostility of the Assembly ; made an appeal to the voice of 
the entire nation ; invited them to vote upon the question of 
a " responsible chief for ten years ;" ministers to be dependent 
on the Executive, and a legislative assembly to be composed 
of two branches, the one to counterbalance the other. Every 
Frenchman who was entitled to vote was called upon to 
decide whether the authority of the President should be con- 
tinued ; and the polls were to remain open during eight days. 
When the Parisians awoke in the mornings they found 
these proclamations boldly staring them in the face from 
every corner of the street. But while this part of the con- 



OP NAPOLEON III. 155 

spiracy was thus completed, other and more difficult portions 
of it were being admirably executed. The Chief of Police, 
M. de Maupas, distributed a proclamation of his own, direct- 
ino; that all good citizens should assist in preserving order, 
and declaring that every violation of the public peace should 
be severely punished. During the early hours of the morning 
of the second of December, before the darkness had given 
place to the dawn, large bodies of troops were quietly entering 
the capital from every direction, and were taking the posi- 
tions respectively assigned them, on the Boulevards, the Quay 
d'Orsay, the Carousal, the Garden of the Tuilleries, the Place 
Concord, and the Champs Elysees. At three o'clock in the 
morning, General Magnan, the Commander-in-Chief of the 
Array of Paris, having received his secret orders from the 
President, had transmitted them to his subordinates ; and 
these dispositions had been made in accordance with those 
instructions. 

At four o'clock in the morning the office of the Minister 
of Police was filled by secret and trusty agents, and by forty 
commissaries who had been notifi.ed to be in attendance at 
that time. They were placed in possession, separately, of 
warrants for the arrest of certain distinguished persons in the 
capital. The ringing of a small bell summoned -them suc- 
cessively into the inner cabinet of the chief, who gave them 
their instructions, and then dismissed them. Each one was 
accompanied by fifteen or tv/enty soldiers ; he was ordered to 
make the arrest entrusted to him precisely at five minutes 
after six o'clock ; and detachments of troops were stationed 
in the vicinity of the house of each captive, to protect the 
agents of the government from the interference of the popu- 
lace. Every arrest was made successfully, and without any 
public disturbance. Seventy-eight captures were thus exe- 
cuted at the same moment. Eighteen v/ere influential mem- 
bers of the Assembly. The rest were distinguished generals, 
orators, leaders of secret societies, commanders of barricades, 
and hostile editors. They were all conveyed by dififeruut 



156 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

routes to the prison called Mazas, situated in the south-eastern 
part of Paris. ^ 

But all the details of the conspiracy had not yet been com- 
pleted. At six o'clock in the morning M. Persigny, attended 
by the forty-second regiment of the line, marched to the Hall 
of the National Assembly, and took possession of the courts 
around it. The soldiers then entered the Hall, occupied it, 
and arrested the questors who were in attendance. At the 
same time, M. de Morny, at the head of two hundred and 
fifty chasseurs, invaded the Ministry of the Interior ; assumed 
the functions of the chief of that office, who had been dis- 
missed the night before ; and dictated a circular to be de- 
spatched by telegraph to all the prefects of the departments 
of France. 

Although the Hall of the Assembly was occupied by the 
troops, sixty representatives succeeded, early in the morning, 
in entering the building, one by one. They met together in 
one of the committee-rooms, and sent for M. Dupin, the Pre- 
sident. He arrived, and a moment after the room was oc- 
cupied by the military. M. Dupin then spoke, and protested 
in the name of the Assembly against the violent measures 
which were in progress ; but turning to the representatives 
present, he told them that it was useless to attempt anything 
against force, and advised them to disperse. The represen- 
tatives followed his suggestion, but they met again at the 
residence of M. Daru, one of the vice-presidents. Other 
fragments of the Assembly convened at different places, some 
at the house of M. Creraieux, and others in an obscure and 
filthy retreat in the faubourg St. Antoine. These passed de- 
crees charging Louis Napoleon with the crime of high treason, 
copies of which decrees were afterward distributed through 
Paris, and became the cause of some of the fatal collisions 



1 Vide : Le Coup d'Etat de Louis Bonaparte, Histoire de la Persecution 
de Decemhre, Evenemens, Prisons, Casementes, et Pontons. Par Javier 
Durrieu, ancient Representant du Peuple, 8vo, p. 192. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 157 

which took place on the succeeding Thursday. Another por- 
tion of the Assembly met at the Mayoralty of the Tenth Ar- 
rondissement. They scarcely amounted to one-third of the 
whole body. They voted the deposition of the President, the 
appointment of General Oudinot Commander-in-Chief of the 
parliamentary forces, and General Lauriston Commander 
of the National Guard. Their dangerous proceedings were 
interrupted by the arrival of troops. They refused to dis- 
perse. They were consequently all arrested, and confined in 
the barracks of the Quay d'Orsay. They amounted in num- 
ber to two hundred and twenty. 

Thus passed off the memorable second of December, 1851, 
the first day of the world-renowned coi^p dfetat. Not a drop 
of blood had yet been spilled ; and Louis Napoleon contem- 
plated with exultation, in the privacy of his cabinet in the 
palace, the commencement, and perhaps the successful termi- 
nation, of this most remarkable and daring movement, which 
opened to him the secure and inevitable pathway to the im- 
perial throne. 

Wednesday, the third of December, dawned. During the 
previous night, the hostile factions had not been idle. Ap- 
palled and astounded as they had been, by the suddenness, 
the mystery, and the simultaneous vigor of the blow which 
had prostrated at the same instant so many of the enemies 
of the President, they were not yet disheartened. They 
had held secret meetings at the Cafe Tortoni, at the Cafe de 
Paris, and in the Italian Boulevards. Here the decrees of 
the fragments of the National Assembly were read and ap- 
proved. The three great measures of the President on the 
first day of the movement, had been so successfully and sud- 
denly executed, that resistance in order to be efficient must 
be deliberate. Those three measures were the arrest of dan- 
gerous persons ; the occupation of the Hall of the Assembly; 
and the distribution of troops to the number of fifty thou- 
sand, to all the necessary portions of the capital. Appre- 
hensive of an impending conflict, the stores and shops re- 
14 



158 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

mained closed during Wednesday ; although the Boulevards 
were crowded with people. At three o'clock on the after- 
noon of this day, Louis Napoleon boldly rode with several 
attendants along the principal streets, and reviewed a division 
of cavalry in the Champs Elysees. In the evening the Presi- 
dential palace was thrown open, and a general reception 
took place. The success of the coup d^etat was now re- 
garded as certain by the majority of the inhabitants of the 
capital ; as was evinced by the large number of prominent 
personages who, on that occasion, tendered their services and 
allegiance to the President. During Wednesday, December 
3d, Paris remained tranquil. The theatres were all crowded 
in the evening. jSTever had a more brilliant and splendid 
audience graced the Italian Opera. The capital seemed as 
much as ever the gay centre of the world's luxury, magnifi- 
cence and vice. But Thursday, the ^reat day of carnage 
and blood, was rapidly approaching. 

Louis Napoleon anticipating the coming danger had pre- 
pared for it. The morning light revealed to the astonished 
Parisians, long and almost endless lines of soldiers drawn up 
on both sides of the Boulevards, and on all the great 
thoroughfares. The soldiers had been abundantly supplied 
with brandy before leaving their barracks ; and they were 
disposed to be furious and bloody. The opposing factions 
had been at work, and this was the day upon which they re- 
solved to try their strength. They had determined that 
France should not be surrendered to the usurper without a 
desperate struggle. The following appeal, among others, 
was posted on the Boulevards, signed by Yictor Hugo : 
"Art. 68. The Constitution is entrusted to the protection 
and patriotism of the French citizens. Louis Napoleon is 
outlawed. The state of siege is abolished. Universal suf- 
frage is re-established. Yive la Republique. To arms I 
For the United Mountain. "^ 

'■ See Eistoire des Crimes du deux Decembre, par Victor Schoelchur, Re~ 
presantant de Peuple, passim. The several works published by the irate 



OF NAPOLEON III. 159 

Early in the morning, barricades were erected in many of 
the streets. They were attacked and taken by the troops 
with little difi&cnlty. At one of these, the representative 
Baudin was killed ; and he was the first who fell. The min- 
ister of war published a proclamation, advising all the in- 
habitants of the capital to remain in their houses ; and de- 
claring that all who were found defending the barricades, or 
taken with arms in their hands, should be shot. The chief 
barricades had been erected in the neighborhood of the Porte 
St. Denis, the Porte St. Martin, and in the streets adjacent 
to them. The troops were quietly demolishing these until 
twelve o'clock in the forenoon. St. Arnaud, the Minister of 
War, had entrusted the conduct of affairs on this critical occar 
sion, to General Magnan. As the middle of the day ap- 
proached, the excitement throughout the capital became 
more and more intense. Still the troops made no hostile de- 
monstration, and their apparent reluctance filled the Red 
Pvepublicans with hope. The streets were now full of tumul- 
tuous crowds ; and at two o'clock the general order was given 
to all the troops to advance simultaneously and clear the 
streets. They obeyed. The division which marched along 
the Boulevards was fired upon from the roofs and windows ; 
and then the general massacre began. An irregular battle 
ensued, which continued for several hours. Many were slain 
on both sides. The streets were thus gradually cleared ; but 
the ground was covered with the bodies of the dying and the 
dead. Some were killed who took no share whatever in the 
conflict, but had been drawn by curiosity to their windows. 
As the soldiers could not distinguish between friends and 
foes, many innocent persons fell victims to their imprudence 
and carelessness. 

During several hours the capital was the scene of an irregu- 
lar conflict ; but by five o'clock in the afternoon all was over. 

and frantic Schoelchur in reference to Louis Napoleon, should be rend 
■with caution ; his passions have led him always to exaggerate, and his 
Statements must be received cum grano salts. 



160 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Tranquility was again restored. The victorious troops 
retained possession of the streets ; the vanquished citizens 
and insurgents remained concealed in their houses. The dead 
were quickly buried, and numerous patrols which scoured the 
city in all directions, arrested every person whose appearance 
and movements were in the least degree suspicious. Efuring 
Thursday night, silence, not unmingled with terror, pervaded 
the capital. When Friday dawned, no sign of resistance was 
exhibited. The opposing factions had been completely 
crushed. The troops marched through every part of the 
city, but no foe appeared. The bold coup d^etat of the 
President had been completely successful. He who had 
blundered and failed so ignominiously at Strasburg and Bou- 
logne had triumphed gloriously at Paris. 

The number of killed and wounded during this memorable 
struffG'le has been variouslv estimated, and in some instances 
absurdly magnified. The most reliable supposition is that 
which places the number of slain at two hundred and twenty- 
five, and the wounded at four hundred. Of these, there were 
thirty killed and a hundred and eighty wounded on the part 
of the soldiers. Throughout the country the excitement be- 
came intense. There were insurrections in twenty-five depart- 
ments at once. The Socialists were at the bottom of these 
movements, and their fury was expended against all those 
who represented order, wealth, rank and respectability. In 
some places the churches were burned, the priests were 
assaulted, women were outraged ; murder, pillage, and con- 
flagration prevailed. But all these disorders were gradually 
put down by the army and by the decisive and rapid measures 
adopted by the President. At the conclusion of this memo- 
rable week all the disturbances were quelled ; order again 
reigned throughout France, the capital was tranquil, the dead 
were buried, the wounded were conveyed to the hospitals, the 
most active and dangerous anarchists were imprisoned, the 
Assembly was obliterated, and Louis Napoleon had realized 
at last the life-long aspiration of his heart ; the dying prayer 



OF NAPOLEON III. 161 

of Hortense was at length fulfilled, and her son, the heir of 
the great Napoleon, had become the absolute ruler of France ! 

Order having been restored and submission enforced through- 
out the capital and throughout France, by the efficient aid of 
the soldier}^ Louis Napoleon addressed the following procla- 
mation to the French people on Monday, December 8th, one 
week after the commencement of the coup d^etat: 

"Frenchmen: The disturbances are quelled. Whatever 
may be the decision of the people, society is re-established. 
The first part of my task is fulfilled ; I knew that by appeal- 
ing to the nation to put an end to party dissensions, I should 
not endanger the public security. 

" Why should the people revolt against me ? 

" If I no longer possess your confidence, if your ideas are 
changed, it is unnecessary to have recourse to insurrection : 
it is enough to deposit a negative vote in the ballot-box. I 
shall always respect the decree of the people. 

"But, until the voice of the nation has been heard, I shall 
not shrink from any effort, from any sacrifice, to foil the 
attempts of the disaffected. Besides, this has now become 
an easy task. 

" On the one hand, there has been shown the folly of con- 
tending against an army, united by the ties of discipline, and 
inspired by the sentiments of military glory and devotion to 
the country. 

" On the other hand, the calm attitude of the inhabitants 
of Paris, and the disapproval with which they blighted the 
insurrection, fully proved on which side the capital declared 
itself. 

" In those populous wards where sedition formerly broke 
forth so readily amongst workmen, ever ready to obey its 
impulses, anarchy, this time, has only encountered a profound 
and steady repugnance for its illusions 

"Thanks to the intelligent and patriotic inhabitants of 
Paris. Let them rest assured that my only ambition is to 
insure peace and prosperity to France. 
14* L 



162 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

"Let them continue to lend their aid to the government, 
and the country shall soon quietly accomplish the solemn act 
which should usher in a new era to the republic." 

The President immediately followed up this proclamation 
with other decrees which tended to promote order, submission, 
security, and the happiness of the people. He restored the 
church of St. Genevieve to its original purpose, the service 
of religion. Other grave changes were quickly made, which 
were calculated to obliterate the reign and influence of infi- 
delity, confusion, and the absurd extremes of socialism. But 
the chief matter which occupied the attention of the President 
at this crisis, was the proper management of the general 
election which was about to ensue ; when the French people 
were to vote upon the proposed presidency of ten years, and 
to signify their approval of the results of the coup d^etat. 

This general election was in reality a stupendous farce. 
Orders were sent beforehand to all the prefects and military 
commanders, directing them to take every precaution to 
secure a vast majority of ballots for the President. The 
voters were forbidden to use the ballot-box. They were com- 
pelled to give their sufirages openly. They marched to the 
polls between double rows of fixed bayonets. The partisans 
and agents of the President were dispersed all over the coun- 
try, and were active both day and night in making converts 
to his cause. He proclaimed a decree immediately before 
the election, denouncing socialism and secret societies, and 
threatening transportation to Cayenne to all who dared to 
defend their doctrines or support their measures. The pro- 
cess of extermination was actually commenced, and eight 
thousand Red Republicans were arrested and thrown into 
prison, and afterward sent to perish or to pine upon the bleak 
wastes of that distant colony. 

The ballotings commenced throughout France on the 
20th of December. The President and his emissaries had 
executed all their plans with energy and success. Between, 
the prevalent desire of peace and order, the wishes of the 



L_ 



OF NAPOLEON III. 163 

great Bonaparte faction, and the terror which controlled 
their enemies, there could be no uncertainty as to the result. 
The Royalists or Legitimists, and the Socialists, did not dare 
to approach the polls, which were everywhere surrounded by 
a stern array of military power. In many communes there 
w^as not a single negative vote deposited. On the 31st of 
December, at eight o'clock in the evening, the members of 
the committee appointed to present to the President the re- 
turns of the election, proceeded to the Palace Elysee to per- 
form that duty. The result of the election held in eighty- 
six departments of France, in Algiers, in the army and in 
the navy, gave the President a vast majority.^ Louis Napo- 
leon was President of France for ten years ; and in reply to 
the address of the committee, he expressed his thanks to 
the nation which had so liberally supported him, saying no- 
thing however of the tyranny and terror which had influenced 
the votes of so many myriads of the electors. 

On the next day, Sunday, January 1st, 1852, the ancient 
cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, was decorated with all 
possible splendor ; a Te Deum was chanted by the Arch- 
bishop, attended by a large concourse of priests, and the 
utmost pomp and grandeur of the Catholic service were ex- 
pended upon the imposing ceremonial. After the conclusion 
of the service, the President for Ten Years, or in other 
words, the .Emperor of France, Napoleon III., returned to 
the Palace of the Tuilleries, the former abode of imperial 
state, where he has ever since continued to reside. 

Thus terminated in complete success, the bold and des- 
perate stroke of Louis Napoleon, for the attainment of the 
supreme power. The most dangerous and perhaps the most 
difficult portion of his life-task had been accomplished. Yet a 
vast deal remained to be achieved, before his power, his glorv, 

' Total number of votes 8,116,773 

In the affirmative 7,430,216 

In the negative 640,737 

Irregular votes 36,820 



164 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

and even his reputation, could be placed upon a secure eleva- 
tion, where they would be unassailable. To the completion of 
his mighty and ambitious work, he now assiduously addressed 
himself. But before we proceed to narrate the history of the 
events which ensued after the coup d^etat, let us glance more 
in detail at some of the less important but not less interesting 
events associated with the great blow in Paris. The inci- 
dents connected with the arrest of the chief opponents of the 
President were diverting in the extreme ; and we give them 
mainly as taken from the narrative of a contemporary writer : 

The arrest of General Changarnier, the most important 
of all, had been entrusted to two men of extraordinary energy, 
Leras, commissary of police, and Baudinet, captain of the 
Republican Guard. They were assisted by fifteen chosen 
agents, thirteen Republican Guards, and by a picket of ten 
men on horseback. 

At five minutes past six, Leras rang at the door of the 
general's house. The porter refused to open the gate, and 
being evidently on his guard, an agent was ordered in a low 
voice to talk to him so as to occupy hira at the gate, and pre- 
vent his giving warning to the general. By the side of the 
gate and belonging to the house, was a grocer's shop ; some 
customers were already at the counter, and it occurred to 
Leras that the grocer's lodgings must communicate with the 
yard. He went into the store and demanded the key of the 
passage in an authoritative tone; he obtained it, and entered 
the house with his followers. The porter had already given 
the alarm by a loud ringing of the bells. Leras rushed up 
the stairs, and hastily entered the general's apartment. At 
the same moment an inner door was opened, and the general 
appeared at his bedroom door, in his shirt, with bare feet, 
and a pistol in each hand. 

The commissary caught his arms, and said, "What are 
yon about, general ? Your life is not in danger. Why defend 
it ? I came to arrest you. We are thirty to one. Resistance 
is useless." 



OF NAPOLEON III. 1 G5 

The general became calm, ,G;ave up his pistols, and said, 
** I will follow you — I am going to dress myself." He was 
then attired by his servant, and observed to Leras : "I know 
M. de Maupas to be a gentleman ; will you tell him that I 
depend on his courtesy not to deprive me of my servant, 
whom I cannot do without?" The request was instantly 
granted. A carriage was at the door ; the general took his 
seat in it, two agents sitting before him, and Leras by his 
side. He still maintained a proud, defiant air, and occasion- 
ally looked out of the windows, as if expecting to see some 
disturbance. 

"Do you know," said he to the commissary, "what a 
narrow escape you have had ? In one second more you were 
a dead man ! I should have regretted it, however, for I see 
you had no arms, and only did your duty." 

" If you had killed me, general," said Leras, "you would 
have only made a widow and four orphans to no purpose." 

"But what is this coup cfetat for?" abruptly asked the 
general. " The President's re-election was certain. He is 
giving himself much needless trouble." The commissary did 
not answer these questions. 

When informed that he was only going to prison, he 
became more calm. He had at first supposed they were 
taking him to Yincennes to be shot. During the journey he 
remarked : " When the President is engaged in a foreign war, 
he will be glad to send for me, to intrust me with the com- 
mand of an army." The carriage stopped before the gate of 
the prison called Mazas, situated in the south-east of Paris, 
very strong, but new, clean, and airy. Here the general was 
safely secured, though invariably treated with every respect. 
The arrest of General Cavaignac was effected with no 
less ease and promptitude. The general was asleep when the 
commissary knocked at the door of his humble residence, in 
the Rue du Helder. Admission was refused, and the com- 
missary threatened to burst it open, when the general opened 
it himself. The commissary said, "General, you are my 



166 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

prisoner ; all resistance is useless ; I am ordered to seize yonr 
person in virtue of a warrant which I will read to you." 

The general was greatly exasperated. He struck the 
table with his fist, and used some very violent expressions. 
The commissary tried to calm him, but the general said, 
" What do you mean by arresting me ? Give me your names." 
"Certainly, general," replied the commissary; "we will not 
conceal them from you ; but this is not the time. It is neces- 
sary to dress and follow us." 

The general quickly recovered his dignity. " It is well, 
sir," said he. " Send out your people; let me dress, and I 
will be ready in a moment." The commissary complied, and 
the general again said, " Sir, grant me two favors ; one is per- 
mission to write a letter to a lady whom I was to marry the day 
after to-morrow ; the other is that I may go with you alone 
to my place of destination." The commissary readily acqui- 
esced. The letter to Mademoiselle Odier, the lady in ques- 
tion, released her from the engagement between them ; but 
the general soon received a reply, stating that she considered 
the arrest only an additional reason why she should remain 
faithful to it. 

In the carriage the general asked, "Where are you taking 
me?" "To Mazas," was replied. "Am I the only one 
arrested?" " General, I am not at liberty to answer that 
question." For the rest of the journey the prisoner main- 
tained a gloomy silence. 

General Lamoriciere was also fast asleep when the com- 
missary rang the bell. The domestic opened the door, but 
seeing the multitude, he ran away, shouting, " Thieves !" He 
was soon caught, however, and compelled to conduct the 
commissary to his master's room. The general arose without 
a word, and began to dress himself. Looking towards the 
chimney-piece, he asked tlie servant what had become of the 
money he had placed there. 

" It is put away safely," said the servant. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 167 

" Sir," said the commissary, " that observation is very in- 
sulting to me. Do you take us for thieves ?" 

"And how do I know that you are not?" asked the 
general. The commissary showed him the badge and read 
the warrant for his arrest. The general was then silent. 

As they were going to the carriage the commissary said : 
" General, I have orders from the prefect of police to treat 
you with all possible consideration, and I wish to act with 
the greatest leniency ; I will put you into a carriage alone 
with myself, if you will give me your word of honor that you 
will not attempt to escape." "I promise nothing, I answer 
for nothing," hastily replied the general ; '^ do with me as you 
please." 

In passing by the Palace of the Legion of Honor, he put 
his head out of the window, and attempted to harangue the 
soldiers. But the commissary drew him back, let down the 
blinds, and told him he should be compelled to use harsh 
measures if he attempted to do so again. The general said, 
" Do as you please;" but when he arrived at Mazas he ap- 
peared much more calm. 

He begged the commissary not to seize his arms, which 
were of value, and to send him some cigars, and Thiers' 
" History of the French Eevolution.''' The commissary com- 
plied with his wishes. 

General Leflo, who was lodging in the Assembly, was in 
bed when the commissary awoke him and showed him his war- 
rant. He arose immediately, but while dressing uttered 
fierce threats against the commissary, and bitter invectives 
against the President of the republic. " Napoleon wishes to 
make a coup d^etat. We will shoot him at Yincennes, and 
shoot you along with him." When he was getting into the 
carriage, he addressed the colonel of the forty-second, and 
wished to harangue the soldiers.. The colonel ordered him 
to be silent, and the soldiers crossed their bayonets on him. 
From the Assembly to the prison General Leflo did not utter 
a word. 



168 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

General Bedeau took matters even less coolly. When the 
servant had half opened the door, the commissary pushed it 
wide open, and the frightened servant running away, he fol- 
lowed him until he came to the general's bedside, when he im- 
mediately announced his orders. The general was thunder- 
struck, and protested loudly against such a violation of the 
Constitution. 

" You are acting in opposition to the laws," said he to the 
commissary. " You must not forget that I am a representa- 
tive of the people, and the vice-president of the Assembly ; 
you cannot arrest me, since you cannot assert that you have 
taken me in Jlagrante delicto.'''' 

The commissary said he only did his duty. 
" What is your name ?" asked the general. 
"Hubaut, " said the commissary. 

" M. Hubaut," said the general, "I have seen honorable 
mention made of your name in the papers, and I am aston- 
ished that you could be the man to undertake arresting me. 
I am vice-president of the Assembly ; I have already shed my 
blood for the cause of order ; and I can risk my life again." 
"I cannot comment on my warrant," said the commissary : 
" I can only execute it. You have risked your life, general, 
in defence of the laws ; do you think I am not willing to risk 
mine in the execution of my orders ? You had better get 
up with good will ; and do not compel me to use harsk 
measures." 

The general arose, but dressed himself with the greatest 
slowness. At last, when he was dressed, he refused to stir. 
" You must use force," said he to the commissary. " I will 
not go unless I am carried off. Now I dare you to seize the 
vice-president of the National Assembly by the collar, and 
drag him off." 

" Do you acknowledge, sir," said the commissary, "that I 
have acted towards you with all possible civility?" The 
general did not deny it, and the commissary, seizing him by 
the collar, began to drag him along. He made vigorous 



OF NAPOLEON III. 169 

resistance, however, and it was not without much difficulty 
that he was forced into the carriage, where he still continued 
to shout " Treason I to arms ! I am the vice-president of the 
National Assembly, and they have arrested me !" His cries 
attracted the notice of passers by, and the sergens de ville 
had to draw their swords while following the carriage, which, 
however, arrived without accident at Mazas. 

Colonel Charras at first refused positively to open his 
door, but seeing it begin to yield, said, " Stop, I will admit 
you," and directly opened it. The commissary told him his 
business, and the colonel replied : " I knew it; I fully expected 
it ; I might easily have made my escape, but I would not 
desert my post. I thought it would happen two days ago, 
and under that conviction I had loaded my pistol ; but I 
have discharged it;" and he pointed to a double-barrelled 
pistol on the chest of drawers. " Had you come that day," 
he added, " I would have blown your brains out. " He entered 
the carriage quietly, and was also conveyed to Mazas. 

The arrest of the civilians did not present the same dan- 
gers as the capture of the military commanders. M. La 
Grange submitted very peaceably. He protested, however, 
against the violation of the Constitution ; said he had only 
to fire a pistol-shot out of the window to call the people to 
arms ; that if he chose to defend himself he could murder all 
the policemen ; and that they should use force to carry him 
from his house. 

On his way to Mazas he declared several times : " It is a 
bold game, but it is well played." In the prison he said to 
General Lamoriciere : " Well, general, we wished to put the 
fellow in, but he has put us in instead." 

M. Grippo, the fiery Socialist, had a complete arsenal 
stowed away under his bed ; a large pile of newly-repaired 
arms, two daggers, a loaded pistol, and a magnificent red 
cap. The sight of the commissary, however, completely 
prostrated M. Grippo. When questioned as to the arms 
found under his bed, he said he had purchased them, as he 
15 



ITO PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

had a taste for the navy. Madame Grippo, a most energetic 
woman, asked her husband in the strongest terms: "Is it 
possible you have so little courage as to allow yourself to be 
arrested without making any resistance ?" But her eloquence 
had no effect ; M. Grippo surrendered without a blow. 

M. Roger du Nord behaved like a nobleman of the last 
century on receiving an order to enter the Bastile. He wel- 
comed the commissaries with the utmost politeness, begged 
them to excuse him while his servant was shaving him and 
fixing his hair, and as they were waiting, hoped they would 
take some cake and wine. 

"So we have a coup Wetat then," said he, pleasantly. "I 
knew all about it two days ago. People can have friends 
everywhere. Ma foi, I like it better than the stupid part we 
were playing at the Assembly. Louis Napoleon will succeed. 
That's incontestable." 

M. Baze, the indomitable questor, did not submit with 
such good grace. The officers found him standing at his 
bedroom door, in his drawers and a splendid morning gown. 
He assumed an oratorical and theatrical air. 

"Commissaries," said he, "in the name of the national 
representation, outraged in my person, I pronounce you to 
be without the pale of the law ! " He had no arms, which 
was fortunate ; for if he had there can be little doubt, from 
the way in which he kicked, bit, and scratched the police- 
men as they were carrying him to the carriage, that he would 
have done some serious injury before he was finally locked up 
in Mazas, 

M. Thiers was sound asleep when M. Hubaut, senior, 
entered his bedroom. The commissary quietly drew back 
the crimson damask curtains, and explained the object of his 
visit. M. Thiers sprang bolt upright, put his hands to his 
eyes, and lifting up his white cotton nightcap, asked: ''What 
is all this?" 

" T am come to se-arch your house ; but do not be alarmed; 
no harm will be done you, monsieur ; there is no fear for 



OF NAPOLEON III. lYl 

your life." The last assurance was needed, for M. Thiers 
seemed much alarmed. 

A search having been made in M. Thiers' cabinet without 
bringing forward any political correspondence, the commis- 
sary expressed surprise. M. Thiers replied that for some 
time past, he had always addressed his political correspondence 
to England, and that none would be found in his house. He 
exhibited much hesitation and alarm when asked to descend 
to the carriage. His fears were not diminished when 
he saw the road the carriage took. Still he continued to 
talk ; at first he used the most persuasive or the most threat- 
ening arguments to induce his captors to release him ; then 
finding such efforts useless, he delivered himself of a very elo- 
quent effusion upon the gravity of his present situation. Ar- 
riving at the prison he asked if he might have his cafi, au lait 
very hot, and some books. He was overwhelmed with atten- 
tions, but his courage quite forsook him, and he began to 
weep. When some of his companions were removed to Ham, 
he was excused from accompanying them ; and finally, as con- 
finement aggravated a disease which afllicted him in the 
throat, he was sent off to Grermany. 



172 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



CHAPTER XI. 

Progress of Louis Napoleon's Ambition — The Empire — Popular Acts 
of Government — The New Constitution — The Prevalence of Alarms 

— Growth of Socialism — The President's -Journey through the Pro- 
vinces — The Infernal Machine at Marseilles — Decree against the 
Property of the Orleans Family — Excuses for that Decree — The 
Restoration of the Empire — Return of the Votes — Reign of Terror 

— Proposals for the Marriage of the Emperor — Their Refusal — 
The Parisian Belle — Qualities of the Countess de Teba — She is 
selected by Louis Napoleon as his Empress — His Address to the 
Senate — The Imperial Nuptials — Imposing Ceremonies on the oc- 
casion — National Reioicings and Congratulations — The Emperor's 
Address to the Senate — Prospects of the Empire. 

After the attainment of the Presidency for Ten Years, the 
next thing, and the last, was the proclamation of the Empire. 
One year after the coup dfetat, and on the day of its first 
anniversary, the Empire was announced. The intrigues and 
labors of a year were necessary to accomplish this result. We 
will now proceed to narrate the events and the machinations 
which brought about that great consummation. 

The first measure to be taken was to win the confidence, 
and to allay the fears, of the nation, by judicious and popular 
acts of government. Louis Napoleon, having thrown great 
censure on the conduct of the Assembly, in impeding the mea- 
sures of the administration, now wished to show how much 
better he could flourish without it. Letters of credit were 
given to the Minister of Finance for the department of Public 
Works ; and large sums were appropriated to internal im- 
provements. Two millions and a half of francs were allowed 
for improving the navigation of the Seine ; a million and a 
half for the same purpose on the P^hone ; half a million for 
the improvement of the harbor of Boulogne ; half a million 




'.J^Aim-£D i:y /!i/;Aii/^VT.;,:z 



SH/CM-J-OJil/ 



t: 



F[BEi) g E U G E'f^Q E 



OF NAPOLEON III. 1^3 

for the works of defence on the Point de Grace; and other 
appropriations of the same nature were made. 

The sanitary, social, and domestic condition of the numerous 
working classes of the capital and of the nation engaged the 
special attention of the President. A large amount of pro- 
perty taken from the estates of the Orleans family, which were 
alienated to the state, was so invested as to ameliorate their 
condition. Many improvements were commenced, through- 
out France, intended to benefit the working classes, and to 
promote their health and comfort ; and as the completion of 
all these works depended on the continuance of the power of 
the President, their progress operated strongly in favor of the 
consolidation of his supremacy, in the wishes and the hopes 
of the laboring orders throughout France. 

A new Constitution had been promised the French people ; 
and on the 16th of January, 1852, its cardinal features were 
publicly announced. The leading doctrine of this document 
is the direct responsibility of the Chief of the government to 
the people of France. In other words, it invested all power 
in the hands of the President, making him in effect an abso- 
lute sovereign. But, as yet, the nation were imposed upon 
and deluded by high-sounding phrases ; by the assertion of 
popular freedom ; by promises, engagements and obligations 
on the part of the President, which served to keep up the 
delusion that there was no diminution of liberty, no increase 
of despotic power in France. The spirit and principle of 
" Centralization" was the specious phrase under which all 
the actual and the prospective assumptions of power were 
disguised and palliated. In this Constitution, speaking of 
the President, and his authority, its author says : 

"Being responsible, his actions must be free, and without 
hindrance. Hence arises the obligation of his having minis- 
ters who may be the honored and powerful auxiliaries of his 
thoughts, but who no longer form a responsible council com- 
posed of jointly responsible members, a daily obstacle to the 
special influence of the chief of the State — a council, the ex- 
15* 



174 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

pression of a policy emanating from the Chambers, and for 
that very reason exposed to frequent changes, which render 
impossible a continuous policy, or the application of a 
regular system. 

"The present Constitution has only settled that which, it 
was impossible to leave uncertain. It has not shut up within 
insurmountable barriers the destinies of a great people. For 
change it has left a margin sufficiently large to allow, in great 
crises, other means of safety than the calamitous expedient 
of revolution. 

*' The Senate can, in concert with the Government, modify 
all that is not fundamental in the Constitution ; but as to any 
modifications of the fundamental bases sanctioned by your 
suffrages, they can only become definitive after having received 
your ratification. 

" Thus the people remain master of their destiny. Nothing 
fundamental is effected without their will. 

** Such are the ideas, such the principles, which you have 
authorized me to apply. May this Constitution give to our 
country calm and prosperous days ! — may it prevent the return 
of those intestine struggles in which victory, however legiti- 
mate, is always dearly bought ! May the sanction which 
you have given to my efforts be blessed by Heaven ! Then 
peace will be assured at home and abroad — my ardent hopes 
will be fulfilled — my mission will be accomplished." 

It must be admitted that nothing could be better adapted 
than such specious declarations, to " pull the wool" over the 
eyes of la grand nation 1 

But Louis Napoleon had a much deeper game to play than 
the utterance of superficial and plausible phrases. He set 
his myriads of agents to work throughout France, to excite 
alarms and spread terror among all classes, in reference to 
the secret and dangerous growth of the Socialists, who were 
represented as political monsters with a thousand hideous 
heads, whose aim it was to overturn all law, security, order, 
and property. These agents declared incessantly that there 



OF NAPOLEON III. 175 

was but one of two things inevitable ; either the return of 
ruin and chaos, or the consolidation of all power in the 
vigorous hands of the President, and the re-establishment of 
the Empire. The most efficient aids and emissaries of Louis 
Napoleon were the priests. He had secretly made his bar- 
gain with the hierarchy. The church and her powers were 
to be re-instated in their ancient glory, with the re-establish- 
ment of the Empire ; and in consequence, the priesthood all 
over France worked day and night in behalf of their patron. 
In the confessional especially, they were indefatigable ; and 
nothing was heard of scarcely but the horrid growth of in- 
fidelity and socialism, and the advantage of the Empire ; 
which, by the establishment of order and supreme power in 
the hands of Louis Napoleon, would secure to all good 
Catholics the triumph of religion and virtue. The dark and 
nefarious powers of superstition were enlisted to their utmost 
extent in his behalf. 

When Louis Napoleon supposed that the public naind had 
been properly prepared by his agents, to make demonstra- 
tions of a popular character in his favor, he undertook a 
journey through some of the provinces. The prefects, 
majors, military commanders, and all other persons possess- 
ing authority had received their instructions long before. 
Every possible expedient was employed to excite the enthu- 
siasm of the multitude in favor of the President. In some 
places these precautions were unnecessary, for there he and 
his government were popular. Elsewhere, however, they 
were indispensable to the proper exhibition of the adulation 
and enthusiasm of the populace. 

Accordingly, wherever the President appeared on this 
journey, he was greeted with universal shouts of Vive VEm- 
pereur! At Bourges, Nevers, Moulins, Grenoble, and many 
other places, his reception was most enthusiastic. But when 
he arrived at Marseilles, he came very near making an abrupt 
termination both of his journey and his life. As the candi- 
date for the imperial throne proceeded through the chief 



1T6 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

streets of this citj, they were strewed with flowers. Multi- 
tudes of people crowded the thoroughfares ; but it was ob- 
served that they were anxious and uneasy in their appearance, 
and did not seem to look at the pageant so much as at the 
surrounding houses ; at vacancy, in fact everywhere, but 
uever at any specific object. Nosegays in the greatest pro- 
fusion were showered upon the carriage which conveyed the 
President and St. Arnaud, the Minister of War. Suddenly 
in their pathway a large pile of roses was observed to ob- 
struct their progress. An officer commenced to remove it, 
when beneath its fragrant and odorous masses an infernal 
machine was found concealed, which in a few moments would 
have exploded, and blown everybody within reach to atoms. 
This incident considerably disturbed the serenity of the 
President. He immediately returned to Paris, overwhelmed 
with disagreeable reflections. He was at a loss to which 
party to attribute this conspiracy against his life — whether 
to the Legitimists, the Orleanists, or the Socialists. Yet it 
did not for a moment deter him from the execution of his 
aims in regard to the Empire. His next step was to nego- 
tiate with the several courts of Europe in reference to the 
restoration of the imperial regime. Meanwhile, innumerable 
memorials and appeals were sent to the President from all 
parts of France, beseeching him to establish order, and to 
crush the anarchical tendencies and disorganizing aims of all 
disaffected traitors to the welfare and glory of France, by the 
assumption of the imperial authority. If any memorials of a 
contrary nature were sent to the President, their reception 
was not proclaimed to the public in the columns of the Moni- 
teurf At length the Senate, completely bought over by the 
agents and the money of Louis Napoleon, addressed him a 
memorial, representing the necessity of complying with the 
desire so universally and energetically expressed by the whole 
nation. In his reply to them, he asserted that the French 
people had clearly announced to him their desire for the 
restoration of the Empire; and he informed them that, after 
great deliberation, and many anxious hours of apprehension, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 17t 

in consequence of the immense responsibilities involved in the 
assumption of the imperial authority, he had concluded to 
sacrifice himself to the welfare of the nation, to comply with 
their wishes, and to restore the Empire. 

One more precaution yet remained to be taken, to secure 
the triumphant and unanimous declaration of the French peo- 
ple in favor of the Empire, at the ballot-box. The last 
struggle was about to be made ; and it was not to be expected 
the hostile factions would yield without a conflict. The Or- 
leans dynasty, of which the now defunct Louis Philippe had 
been the head, still possessed an immense amount of property 
in France, estimated at three hundred millions of francs. On 
the 22d of January, 1852, a decree was issued by the 
President, compelling them to sell this property within a 
year. As long as the Orleans family retained this vast 
wealth in France, it necessarily gave them a large degree of 
influence. This compulsory sale of their property was justi- 
fied, both by the necessities of the case, and by the example 
of former rulers of France. Louis XYIII. had previously 
compelled the Bonapartes to do the same thing. Louis Phi- 
lippe had ordered the old moth-eaten Bourbon dynasty to 
dispose of their wealth in France in the same manner. And 
the time allowed by Louis Napoleon to the Orleans family 
within which to execute the decree, was much longer than that 
specified and permitted in the other instances.^ In addition 

' Another cause assigned for this rigorous treatment of the Orleans 
family was the fact, that, on the arrest of Louis Napoleon after the 
affair of Boulogne, a million dollars were said to haye been taken from 
his person, and transmitted to the government of Louis Philippe ; that 
this treasure constituted all the resources of his partisans both in 
France and out of it ; and that it was never returned to the Prince at 
any subsequent period of his career. The fair inference therefore was, 
that it had been fraudulently appropriated to their own use by the king 
and his rapacious family. It is impossible now to ascertain the truth 
or the falsehood of this statement : it rests solely on the authority of 
Louis Napoleon ; though a reasonable doubt may readily exist as to the 
possibility of his friends and himself accumulating so vast a sum. 

M 



118 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

to this, the decree restored the state a large amount of pro- 
perty which the ''money-bag king" had filched from the 
national revenues, and were thenceforth to be appropriated 
to the amelioration of the condition of the working classes. 
A large portion of this property in fact belonged to the na- 
tion, by the operation of an old law which provided, that the 
possessions of any prince, on his accession to the throne, be- 
came vested immediately in the nation. Louis Philippe was 
called to the throne, and he accepted it, on the 7th of August, 
1830 ; yet afterward on the 8th of that month, he made do- 
nations of an immense amount of property to his younger 
children, to the exclusion of his eldest son and heir. The 
purpose of this swindle was to prevent this wealth from 
vesting in the nation ; and also to compel the nation to pro- 
vide separately for the maintenance of his heir, when he 
had succeeded to the throne. All these devises vere illegal 
and invalid. 

At length, when all the preparatory steps had been 
taken, when the whole nation were convinced either of the 
benefits of the reinstated Empire, or of the uselessness of 
resisting its advent, a decree was issued commanding the 
people to declare their sentiments on the subject at the ballot- 
box. The same methods of constraint which had overawed 
and controlled the election of the President for ten years, now 
governed that in reference to the Empire ; and the result, as 
might be expected, was the same. The Empire was restored 
in the person of Louis Napoleon ; and thus, at last, after 
many long years of exile, labor, suffering, and intrigue, the 
ambitious son of Hortense mounted the very same exalted 
eminence which had once been occupied and adorned by the 
mighty Corsican ! 

On Thursday, the 25th November, the Chief of the State 
communicated with the members of the legislative body, 
convened from their several departments to hear the oflBcial 
declaration of the result of the elections, and to take part in 
the inauguration of the Empire. Said he : 



OF NAPOLEON III. 1*79 

"I have recalled you from your departments, that you 
may be associated with the great act which is about to be 
accomplished. Although the Senate and the people alone 
had the right to modify the Constitution, I have wished that 
a political body which has issued, like myself, from universal 
suffrage, should come to attest to the world the spontaneous- 
ness of the national movement which bears me to the Empire. 
I desire expressly that it should be you who, in certifying the 
liberty of the vote and the numerical amount of the suffrage, 
should prove by your declarations the complete lawfulness of 
my power. To declare, in fact, to-day, that authority rests 
on incontestable right, is to give it the necessary force for 
founding something durable, and to insure the prosperity of 
the country. The Government, as you know, will only 
change its form. Devoted to the great interests which intel- 
ligence brings forth and which peace develops, it will restrain 
itself, as it has hitherto done, within the limits of moderation ; 
for success never swells with pride the hearts of those who 
see in their elevation a greater duty imposed by the people, 
and a more elevated mission confided by Providence." 

The return of the votes on the question of restoring the 
Empire, was as follows : The affirmative votes numbered 
1,864,180 ; thenegative were 253,145; the null and irregular 
were 63,326. Thus it appeared that through a singular com- 
bination of influences, both legitimate and illegitimate, the 
voice of the nation, with great unanimity, placed the imperial 
diadem on the head of Louis Napoleon. 

Two things were necessary to consolidate the power of the 
new Emperor. One was to crush and exterminate his chief 
enemies, who still lurked in France ; the other was the per- 
petuation of his family by a matrimonial connection. In the 
execution of the first of these a system of terror was inau- 
gurated. Private houses were entered and searched. The 
persons, and the papers of all suspected persons, were taken ; 
the former were conveyed to prison, the latter were sealed up 
and afterward examined, for the purpose of obtaining testimony. 



180 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

By this means hundreds who had been the active opponents 
of the imperial aspirant throughout France, were soon placed 
beyond the reach of doing harm, by being banished to the 
wilds of Algiers or Cayenne. 

As to the marriage of the Emperor, proposals were made 
by his ambassadors to several courts of Europe for the pur- 
pose of negotiating a match. One of these was the court 
of Sweden ; but for reasons which are not clearly understood, 
the imperial bridegroom was refused on every hand ; and 
Louis Napoleon had the mortification to see the fairest 
daughters of royalty in Europe decline his proffered alliance. 
Here was a dilemma which was both dangerous and dis- 
agreeable. 

During the winter and spring of 1852, the gay and elegant 
society of Paris was enlivened by the presence of a young 
lady belonging to one of the noblest families of Spain. She 
was graceful, accomplished, beautiful, and exhibited many 
qualities of mind and person which were both brilliant and 
attractive. She was rather bold and independent in her habits 
and costume ; but these eccentricities were of such a character 
as always to heighten her charms and render her more irre- 
sistibly fascinating. She was a very admirable horsewoman ; 
and when the fair Countess de Teba rode along the Boule- 
vards, all Paris gaped agog with admiration and wonder. 
She soon became the most celebrated belle of the capital. 
At the imperial receptions, the gilded saloons of the Tuilleries 
contained no face or form so bewitching, so lovely, and so 
pleasing as that of the young Spanish countess. The vulture 
eyes of the former lover of Madame Gordon and Mrs. How- 
ard soon fastened on her. It was indeed shrewdly asserted 
at the time, that she was there for the express purpose of 
being thus fastened on ! It did not require a very long period 
for Louis Napoleon to perceive that here was a god-send for 
the elect of the whole people, but the rejected of three prin- 
cesses. Here was a lady of noble birth, of great wealth, of 
ancient descent though not born in the purple, encumbered 



OF NAPOLEON III. 181 

b}" no royal alliances, with no poor relations to provide for, 
and wiihal beautiful and charming in the extreme. His 
attentions to her gradually became marked and suggestive. 
He found her, upon a more intimate acquaintance, to be 
highly intelligent, amiable, and more than all, an admirer of 
his own person, talents, and fame. She seems to have made 
some impression on his affections, for soon he offered to share 
with her his throne. Thus solicited the young Countess de 
Teba stood on no ceremony, and accepted the somewhat 
mature and faded, but yet imperial bridegroom. The an- 
nouncement of the coming nuptials was publicly made to the 
Senate on the 22d of January, 1853. In this communication 
the Emperor thus expressed himself : 

" She who has been the object of my preference is of 
princely descent. French in heart, by education, and the 
recollection of 'the blood shed by her fathe? in the cause of 
the Empire, she has, as a Spaniard, the advantage of not 
having in France a family to whom it might be necessary to 
give honors and fortune. Endowed with all the qualities of 
the mind, she will be the ornament of the throne. In the 
day of danger she would be one of its courageous supporters. 
A Catholic, she will address to Heaven the same prayers 
with me for the happiness of France. In fine, by her grace 
and her goodness, she will, I firmly hope, endeavor to revive 
in the same position the virtues of the Empress Josephine. 

"I come then, gentlemen, to announce that I have pre- 
ferred the woman whom I love and whom I respect, to one 
who is unknown, and whose alliance would have had advan- 
tages mingled with sacrifices. Without despising any one, I 
yet yield to my inclinations, after having taking counsel with 
my reason and my convictions. In fine, by placing inde- 
pendence, the qualities of the heart, domestic happiness, 
above dynastic prejudices and the calculations of ambition, 
I shall not be less strong because I shall be more free. 

"Proceeding immediately to Notre Dame, I shall present 
the Empress to the people and to the army. The confidence 
16 



182 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

which they have in me assures me of their sympathy ; and 
you, gentlemen, on better knowing her whom T have chosen, 
will aorree that on this occasion, as on some others, I have 
been inspired by Providence." 

This match was professedly one of affection and not of 
state policy; yet the assertion to that effect in this address 
would have had more influence could people have forgotten, 
that overtures had been previously made to several royal 
families, and that they had been peremptorily rejected. 

Accordingly, the civil marriage of Louis Napoleon with 
Mdlle. de Montigo, the Countess de Teba, was celebrated at 
the Tuilleries on the 29th of January ; and the religious 
ceremonies took place the next day, which was Sunday, with 
great splendor and magnificence at the Cathedral of Notre 
Dame. The Archbishop of Paris officiated on this interest- 
ing occasion. .The venerable and capacious edifice was 
crowded with the most brilliant and elegant assemblage ever 
convened in France, or perhaps in the world. All the pomp 
of the Catholic service, all the opulence of the capital, all 
the beauty and brilliancy of the court, all the grim majesty 
of the military, whatever was illustrious in science and art, 
every resource of celebrity, fascination, and lavish luxury, 
were exhausted on the incidents and the displays of this feli- 
citous day. The imperial couple sat on two thrones erected 
in front of the high altar. Sublime and heavenly melody re- 
sounded beneath the lofty arches of the ancient pile. A nu- 
merous and gorgeous array of priests assisted. The great 
representatives of the army, of the senate, of the municipal 
authorities, of the diplomatic corps, delegations from the 
great cities of France, and the most brilliant and beautiful 
female leaders of fashion in the capital, — all were there. 
The agitation of the young Empress, the focus of so many 
inquisitive eyes during the ceremony, was extreme. It was 
necessary for the Emperor to soothe and allay her emotions. 
All passed off happily and favorably ; and everybody, except 
the fierce and implacable leaders of the dark and desperate 



OF NAPOLEON III. 183 

factions, rejoiced at the consummation of the imperial 
nuptials. 

The Emperor signalized his marriage by an amnesty, which 
restored to liberty and France nearly five thousand persons 
who were suffering banishment or imprisonment for political 
offences. The list embraced several women, and one child 
fourteen years of age. But it did not include any of the 
more dangerous and distinguished enemies of the Emperor. 
All the banished generals, and all the men of importance 
who were expelled after the events of December, 1851, still 
remained under the ban of exile. It was estimated that a 
thousand political offenders, including all those who were 
really dangerous, were still unpardoned. Their number was 
considerably augmented by the sweeping arrest on the night 
of the 5th of February of thirty or forty gentlemen, who 
were suspected by the government of being the secret Paris 
correspondents of Belgian, Swiss, German, and Italian jour- 
nals, and of having put in circulation rumors unfavorable to 
the character of the new Empress. This arbitrary arrest, 
effected in the night, and without due process of law, or the 
slightest proof of offence, created a good deal of dissatisfac- 
tion and temporarily affected the funds. The Legislative 
Assembly met on the 14th of February, and with the other 
bodies was addressed by the Emperor in a brief but em- 
phatic speech. He said that order had not been disturbed 
within the year ; the law, in resuming its empire, had allowed 
the return to their homes of a majority of the men who were 
made the subjects of necessary rigors ; the riches of the nation 
had increased ; the activity of labor had developed itself in 
every branch of industry ; the form of government had been 
changed without any shock; great works have been under- 
taken without any new tax or loan ; peace had been main- 
tained without weakness ; all the powers have recognized the 
new government ; and France then had institutions which 
could defend themselves, and the stability of which did not 
depend upon the life of a man. *' These results," says the 



184 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Emperor, "have not cost great efforts, because they were in 
the minds and for the interests of all. To those who would 
doubt their importance, I will reply, that scarcely fourteen 
months ago France was delivered up to the hazards of an- 
archy. To those who may regret that a wider field has not 
been given to liberty, I will reply, that liberty has never 
aided in founding a durable political edifice ; it crowns it 
when it has been consolidated by time. Let us, besides, 
not forget that the immense majority of the country has 
confidence in the present and faith in the future; there 
still remain incorrigible individuals, who, forgetful of their 
own experience, of their past errors, and of their disappoint- 
ments, obstinately persist in paying no attention to the na- 
tional will, deny the reality of facts, and in the midst of a sea 
which every day lowers more and more, call for tempests in 
which they would be the first to be swallowed up. These 
occult proceedings of the different parties serve no purpose 
but to show their weakness, and the government, instead of 
being disturbed at them, only think of governing France and 
tranquilizing Europe." 

The Emperor further assured the legislature that all the 
resources of the country should be devoted to useful purposes ; 
and that every possible means should be employed, to render 
France still more prosperous, secure, and happy, than she 
had ever been. One significant proof of the probability and 
the truth of this declaration was the fact that the standing 
army, which in Louis Philippe's reign had numbered eighty 
thousand men, had been, during the preceding year, reduced 
to thirty thousand, and was then about to be diminished to 
twenty thousand. 



OF NAPOLE ON III. 185 



CHAPTER XII. 

Origin of the War in the Crimea — Insulting Letter of Nicholas I. to 
the French Emperor — Early History of the Crimea — The Empress 
Catherine II. — She subjugates the Crimea — Origin of Sevastopol — 
Nicholas I. resolves on the Conquest of Tui'key — The Holy Places in 
Palestine — Communications between Nicholas and the British Govern- 
ment — The War — The Peace — The Treaty of Paris — Provisions 
of the Treaty — Louis Napoleon the real Hero of the War — The 
English Press and its Adulation of him — A Contrast — Visit of Louis 
Napoleon to Queen Victoria — Extract from the London Times — 
Addresses by Corporations — Attempt to Assassinate Louis Napoleon 
in Paris — Visit of Queen Victoria to Louis Napoleon — The Exhibi- 
tion of the World's Industry — The French Press on the English Al- 
liance — Birth of the Prince of Algeria — Frantic Joy of the Nation 
— Addresses of Congratulation — The Emperor's Answer to the 
Senate — His Pious Reply to the Corps Legislatif — Abdel-Kader — 
Bai-bes. 

Scarcely had the general joy and congratulation which 
attended the imperial nuptials subsided, when the political 
horizon of Europe became darkened with the gloomy and 
lowering portends of war. The memorable struggle in the 
East for the supremacy of the Crimea and Constantinople was 
about to take place. When Louis Napoleon was elevated 
to the imperial throne, he dispatched to the Emperor jSTicho- 
las, in common with the rest of the sovereigns of Europe, a 
messenger informing him of his new dignity. Nicholas re- 
turned, after some time, an answer so cold, so ambiguous, 
and so destitute of all courtesy — even of that hollow and 
worthless courtesy which usually characterizes the intercourse 
of sovereigns not actually engaged in war, — that Louis Na- 
poleon could not fail to receive it as a direct insult. He de- 
termined to be revenged ; but, true to his nature, he proceeded 
slowly and adroitly in the execution of his purpose. The 
16* 



186 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

result of his machinations was the hastening on of the war in 
the East, and the ultimate results which followed : — the send- 
ing of a powerful French armament to the Crimea ; the 
memorable battles of the Alma, Balaklava, Inkermaun, and 
Sevastopol ; the uniform victories of the allied armies ; the 
baflding of the ambitious aims of the proud Czar ; his deep 
mortification and disappointment ; and even his premature 
death, which was undoubtedly produced by the disasters which 
befell his arms in the conflicts of the Crimea. By all these 
Louis Napoleon was in the end amply avenged ! 

It is a remarkable circumstance, that in this nineteenth 
century the mighty tide of human events has been rushing 
back again, from the gold-burdened climes of the West, to 
those venerable scenes and landmarks in the East which were 
renowned in ancient history and mythology ; but which, during 
some ages past, had escaped the scrutiny and lost the interest 
of mankind.^ 

•Many cycles have revolved since the quiet shores of the 
Euxine became the scene of war's tumultuous agitation. 
The triumphant legions of Alexander the Great, of Mithri- 
dates, and of Pompey, there successively discovered a con- 
genial resting-place in their wearied careers of conquest. 
Afterward, the ferocious cohorts of Genghis Khan and Tamer- 
lane, having devastated immense tracts of Asia, and spread 
desolation over half a continent, found themselves beneath 
the cool shades of the wooded vales of the Crimea ; and there 
they also ceased their march of triumph. 

In this same region, anciently termed the Tauric Cherso- 
nesus, Iphigenia, the beautiful daughter of Agamemnon, 
having fled in terror to escape the execution of a cruel vow, 
became the high-priestess of her chaste protectress, Diana ; 
erected a splendid temple to her solemn worship ; and conse- 
crated the land forever to the sublime religion and philosophy 

1 Several pages are here inserted from the authors work, entitled; 
^'■The Life and Reign of Nicholas I., Emperor of Russia" &c. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 18t 

of Greece. And afterward, as age after age revolved, that 
fertile and delicious clime became successively the prey of the 
invading Greeks, the Romans, the Goths, the Tartars, and 
the Turks. At length, in the year 1774, the Empress 
Catherine II. of Russia, suddenly arousing herself from the 
voluptuous embraces of her fawning and pampered paramours, 
cast her ambitious eyes abroad over its rich valleys and fruit- 
covered plains ; and she resolved that they should become 
incorporated into her vast empire. For a time she forgot, or 
at least suspended, her tender and licentious dalliances, in 
order to obey the promptings of a sterner and perhaps a 
nobler passion, — that of conquest and aggression. The 
policy which she adopted was the one to which the Muscovite 
sovereigns have ever been partial ; she extended her protec- 
tion first, she imposed her jurisdiction and supremacy after- 
ward. She first induced the khans of the Crimea, by her 
secret emissaries, to resist the Turkish authority. A war then 
ensued between the sultan and his rebellious subjects. The 
Russian empress interfered, and at length stipulated for the 
independence of the Tartars from the Turkish yoke. The 
khans being thus free, she next provoked animosities and 
conflicts between them. She was again invited to interpose. 
She complied with the request of the khans ; she took their 
causes of dispute into consideration ; and restored peace 
among them by inducing the reigning khan, Sahim Gheray, 
to adopt Russian principles of government. This excited 
the rebellion of his subjects, as Catherine intended that it 
should ; and he was forced to abdicate the throne. He was 
then dragged as a prisoner to an obscure Russian town ; was 
delivered over to the Turks and was finally beheaded by them 
at Rhodes, Thus, the Crimea being left without a legitimate 
master, Russia easily assumed the sovereign power ; and this 
lawless assumption Turkey was at last compelled to confirm 
and recognize, by the solemn treaty of 1784. 

The Crimea being thus annexed to the Russian Empire, it 
was necessary to create a new metropolis for the new pro- 



188 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

vince. Prince Potempkin, then the minister of the triumphant 
Empress, settled the question of the location of the capital, 
after a peculiar fashion of his own. He tossed up a coin, 
and Simferopol, the ancient capital, was destined still to 
retain that dignity. The seat of the new government was 
established there, large barracks were erected, and a strong 
garrison was placed in occupation of the works. 

But still, the ambition of the invincible Catherine was not 
satiated. Imperial majesty and greatness were without an 
adequate representative among the cities of the southern ex- 
tremity of her dominions. She must possess a fortress of 
sufficient magnitude to defend the Crimea from external 
attack, and as a formidable centre for her own future aggres- 
sion. The old and obscure town of Akhtiar was found to 
offer very great advantages for such a purpose. Immediately 
an army of workmen w^ere ordered thither, and enormous 
works were at once begun. Isew harbors were excavated. 
Immense arsenals were built. Colossal fortresses were con- 
structed. Yast quantities of the munitions of war were 
accumulated. All the resources then possessed by the art 
of engineering were exhausted in the defence of the place, 
and in the construction of its works. A powerful and per- 
manent garrison was stationed there, to overawe the Sultan, 
and to protect Russian commerce in the Black Sea and the 
Dardanelles. And this new bulwark of Russian power, this 
grim portend of coming aggression, was then called Sevas- 
topol, — a name which has since become heir to a world-wide 
but an unfortunate celebrity. And soon the shores of the 
Crimea became studded with the splendid palaces and sump- 
tuous retreats of the nobility of the Russian capital, who 
were enamored of its balmy skies, its delicious atmosphere, 
its fertile plains, and its beautiful scenery. 

Nicholas I. had occupied the throne of the czars for nearly 
thirty years, when he seems to have come to the conclusion, 
that the period had at length arrived, when he should realize 
the glorious and crowning project of his life and ambition, — 



OF NAPOLEON III. 189 

the final and complete subjugation of the throne of the Sul- 
tans to his own, and the incorporation of the European 
empire of the infidels into that of the orthodox believers. 

That was in truth a sublime spectacle, presented by the 
powerful Czar, as seated in his northern capital, he delibe- 
rately contemplated the achievement of this vast enterprise. 
That he never for a moment doubted the certainty of his com- 
plete success, will readily be admitted by all who are familiar 
with the stern character of Nicholas, with the imbecility of 
the sultan, and with the relative physical forces of their two 
empires. And this gorgeous dream of Oriental conquest 
was the same which had once fired the imagination of the as- 
piring Catherine ; but which her sudden death had prevented 
her from attempting to realize. Alexander I. had been 
diverted from it, by his terrible conflicts with Napoleon I. 
And now Nicholas, not less ambitious and more powerful 
than either, determined to emulate the fame of the Great 
Peter, the first founder of the empire, by himself deserving 
the equal title of its second creator, by adding to it the vast 
conquests which his triumphant arms would make, over the 
patrimony of the descendants of the False Prophet. 

Never had a more gorgeous conception than this, inflamed 
the imagination, and elicited the abilities, of a conqueror. 
It would have thrown a halo of transcendent glory around 
his name, had he been the ultimate vanquisher of that once 
formidable and sanguinary power, which for so many ages 
had disturbed the repose of Christendom ; which had crushed 
the stately republic of Yenice ; which had assaulted the bul- 
warks of Vienna ; which had desolated the commerce of the 
Mediterranean ; and which had inflicted on so many myriads 
of unfortunate believers the horrors of a captivity far worse 
than death itself. And had the Czar been able to realize this 
stupendous scheme of conquest, his consolidated empire 
would then indeed have been more colossal than any other 
which has ever existed ; than that of Alexander the Great, 
than that of Charlemagne, than that even of Napoleon I. 



190 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Preparatory to commencing this vast project, Nicholas en- 
deavored to cajole and deceive the British government, either 
into active co-operation with him, or into a passive indiffer- 
ence to his measures. He took occasion to express his 
feigned sentiments of amity toward England, to the English 
ambassador then at his court, Sir H. Seymour, in February, 
1854. Said he: " It is very essential that the English go- 
vernment and I should be on the best terms ; and the neces- 
sity was never greater than at present. I beg you to convey 
these words to Lord John Russel. As long as we are agreed, 
I am quite indifferent as to the rest of Europe." "It in- 
stantly occurred to me," continued Sir H. Seymour, in re- 
ference to this conversation, "that it was incomplete, and I 
determined to inquire more particularly into his views. I 
therefore said to his majesty, ' Permit me to take a great 
liberty.' ' Certainly; let me hear what it is.' I observed 
to him that I should be particularly glad if his majesty would 
add a few words which would tend to calm the anxiety with 
regard to the affairs of Turkey, which existed in England. 
Said Nicholas , ' The affairs of Turkey are in a very disor- 
ganized condition. The country indeed seems to be going to 
ruin, (^menace mine;) its fall will be a great misfortune, and 
it is very important that England and Russia should come to 
a perfectly good understanding upon these affairs. We have 
on our hands a sick man, — a very sick man. It will be a 
great misfortune, if one of these days, he should slip away 
from us.' "^ 

In 1853, the French ambassador at Constantinople had 
been instructed to inquire into certain alleged grievances 
which were inflicted upon the Latin or Roman Christians in 
Palestine. The Sultan, on receiving the communication of 
the French ambassador, General Aupich, on the subject, im- 

'■ "Nous avons sur les bras un homme malade, — un homrae grave- 
ment malade; ce sera un grand malheur si, un de ces jours, il devait 
nous echapper ; surtout avant que toutes les dispositions necessaries 
fussent prises," &c. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 19^1 

mediately appointed a commission to investigate the grounds 
of complaint. This commission declared, after the necessary 
examination, that the Latins were entitled to the guardian- 
ship of the '" Holy Places" in question, inasmuch as they had 
been formerly named in a firman which the Sultan had granted 
to that church, as entitled to that trust. 

Here then was the decided pretext for hostilities for which 
the Czar so eagerly searched. He immediately wrote to the 
Sultan, Abd-ul-Medjid, insisting that the privileges of the 
Greek Christians in Palestine had been invaded ; and requi- 
ring that the custody of the Holy Places should be withdrawn 
from the Latins, and entrusted to the Greeks. The Sultan, 
on receiving this portentous epistle from the Czar, was terri- 
fied. He immediately annulled the proceedings of the com- 
mission, and appointed another to take the same matter into 
consideration. This commission attempted to obviate all 
causes of dispute, and reported in favor of allowing the Greek 
and Latin Christians to have equal access and right to the 
great Cupola of the Holy Sepulchre ; and that the Latins 
should have access to the Tomb of the Yirgin, and a key to 
the Church of Bethlehem. 

To this very reasonable arrangement the French govern- 
ment acceded ; and here would have been an end of all diffi- 
culty so far as everybody was concerned, excepting the Czar. 
But he did not entertain the remotest idea of being satisfied 
with any thing ; no concession, however fair and reasonable, 
would have been received by him as a final adjustment of 
the dangerous and unhappy dispute. With the most despi- 
cable duplicity and dishonesty he directed his ambassador to 
insist, that the key which the Latins were to possess, should 
be that of aside-door only ; and that the promulgation of the 
decree of the Sultan should be read in Jerusalem in the most 
public manner, and then announced throughout the Turkish 
dominions. To these absurd demands the Sultan showed an 
unexpected and spirited resistance. He was inflexible in 
reference to the important matter of the key; and the entrance 



192 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

to the Great Door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was 
formally entrusted to the Latin monks. 

Nicholas pretended to be incensed at the stubbornness of 
the Sultan, and his resistance to his just demands ; and in the 
spring of 1853 he announced that he was about to send to 
Constantinople an extraordinary ambassador of high rank, 
commissioned to set forth in full his demands. On the 
1st of March, accordingly, Prince Menschikoflf arrived in 
Constantinople ; and the very next day demanded and re- 
ceived an audience with the Sultan. This very first procedure 
was an insult to the Ottoman court and sovereign, inasmuch 
as diplomatic etiquette imperatively required, that he should 
first have had an interview with the Minister of Foreign Af- 
fairs. A month passed away in arrogant and unreasonable 
assumptions on the one side, and in vain attempts at concilia- 
tion and arrangement on the other. At length, on the 5th of 
May, Prince Menschikoff announced to the Divan, that he 
had received the ultimatum of the Czar, the acceptance of 
which on the part of the Sultan would prevent any farther 
difficulties. This ultimatum was in substance a demand, 
that the Sultan should acknowledge a Russian protectorate 
over all the Greek subjects of the Ottoman empire, — a con- 
cession which would have been equivalent to establishing a 
Russian supremacy over two-thirds of the population of the 
Turkish dominions. Menschikoflf allowed the Sultan twelve 
days for the acceptance of this infamous proposition ; which 
was ultimately rejected. 

It is not our purpose to narrate all the events of the 
memorable war in the East. Sevastopol fell, after a siege of 
a year's duration, and after a hundred thousand men had 
perished around and within her walls. An armistice was 
proclaimed between the belligerent forces early in the year 
1856 ; and, in a few weeks afterwards, the plenipotentiaries 
of Austria, Russia, France, Great Britain, Sardinia, and 
Turkey, duly accredited from their respective governments, 
assembled in Paris, to arrange the preliminaries and the con- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 193 

ditions of a treaty vvliicli should give permanent peace to a 
troubled continent. 

On this important and memorable occasion, which involved 
the vital interests of so many millions of human beings, 
Austria was represented by Count Buol ; Russia, by Count 
Orloff; France, by Prince Walewski ; Great Britain, by 
Lord Clarendon ; Sardinia, by Count Cavour ; and Turkey, 
by Ali Pacha, — diplomatists of the highest eminence and 
celebrity in Europe. 

On Sunday, March 30th, 1856, the long and arduous labors 
of these plenipotentiaries terminated. 

The draft of the general treaty of peace drawn up by the 
Comite de Redaction having, in the sitting of Saturday, ob- 
tained the sanction of the Congress, the plenipotentiaries of 
the contracting Powers met the next day to proceed to the 
formal act of affixing their signatures to the document. M. 
Feuillet de Conches, chief of the protocol department in the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had caused seven copies of the 
treaty, written on parchment, to be prepared and placed 
on the table of the conferees in such a manner that each 
copy was put before the plenipotentiary of the government 
by which it was to be ratified. After the text of the seven 
copies had been carefully compared, the plenipotentiaries 
proceeded to affix their signatures to the end of the treaty. 
Count Walewski, as President of the Congress, signed first, 
and the other representatives in the alphabetical order of 
their respective countries. It was at this moment that the 
emperor was informed by electric telegraph that the treaty 
of peace was being signed ; and his Majesty sent back word 
to the members of the Congress that he would be ready to 
receive them after they had concluded their task. But, 
although the mere act of affixing their signatures occupied 
the plenipotentiaries but a very brief portion of time, yet the 
whole of the formality of signing lasted nearly two hours, as 
the plenipotentiaries, in addition to their signatures at the 
bottom of each protocol, had to affix their initials to the 
17 N 



194 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

different paragraphs, the whole number of such minor signa- 
tures being, it is said, thirty-eight. The plenipotentiaries of 
each contracting Power signed first the copy reserved for 
their government, and then the other plenipotentiaries signed 
in alphabetical order. In this manner, each contracting 
Power figuring at the head of the signatures of the copy 
which it was to ratify, all difficulties as to etiquette or pre- 
cedency were avoided. To each signature was immediately 
attached the privy seal of each plenipotentiary. Immediately 
after the close of the sitting, all the plenipotentiaries repaired 
together to the Tuilleries, where they had the honor of being 
received by the Emperor. Cabinet couriers were sent off in 
the evening to London, Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Turin, 
and Constantinople, in order to submit the treaty to the 
ratification of their respective sovereigns. 

The first point of this treaty implied a material guarantee 
— the neutralization of the Black Sea — the only high-road to 
Constantinople for a Russian fleet. Russia was to destroy her 
arsenals and forts in the Black Sea, which was to become a 
commercial sea, with European consuls in its ports. On the 
land side, the Danubian Principalities were to form a barrier 
against any further attempt at aggression by Russia. 

The second point had a moral, political, as well as a general 
object. Russia renounced all pretension to interfere in the 
internal administration of Turkey, which latter entered into 
the great family of nations. 

The Emperor Alexander II. solemnly declared that he 
renounced sincerely and completely the traditional policy of 
Peter the Great and of Catherine II., as regarded the exten- 
sion of the Russian Empire in the East. 

The third point guaranteed the freedom of the navigation 
of the Danube to all countries. 

The fourth point secured the immunities and privileges of 
the Christian subjects of the Porte. 

The fifth point concerned Nicolaieff, which was to be dis- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 195 

mantled, the Aland Islands, Ismail, and Bomarsund. All 
these points were satisfactorily settled. 

The treaty was signed with a quill expressly prepared for 
the occasion. The plenipotentiaries intended each to retain 
the pen with which he signed his name and made his flourishes. 
But the Empress Eugenie having expressed a desire to pre- 
serve the quill with which the treaty was executed, the pleni- 
potentiaries acceded to her wish, and a pen was accordingly 
provided for this distinguished purpose. An eagle's quill 
was selected, which was elegantly mounted in gold and gems. 
Why this bellicose emblem was chosen, instead of a more 
pacific goose-quill, does not clearly appear ! 

The moment the signatures were completed, a telegraphic 
signal sent to the Invalides indicated the happy consumma- 
tion ; and a hundred and one discharges of artillery pro- 
claimed in tones of thunder, to the astonished and delighted 
inhabitants of the capital, the welcome tidings and auspicious 
news of "peace on earth, and good-will to men." 

This much-discussed treaty of peace was signed on the 
anniversary of a great event. On that day, forty-two years 
before, was fought the battle of Paris, the last act of the 
great drama of which Europe was the theatre ; and on the 
following day the Russians entered the French capital, and 
dictated terms of peace where now their ambassadors came to 
ask for it. 

This finale to the war in the East, so flattering to the pride 
of the French people, was chiefly due to the slvilful manage- 
ment of Louis Napoleon. It was through his efforts tliat 
England had combined with France" in supporting the cause 
of Turkey. He took care to send to the Crimea a powerful 
and efficient army, to press on the siege of Sevastopol, to 
drive the young Czar to extremities, to compel him to pro- 
pose terms of peace, to summon a congress of plenipotenti- 
aries, to appoint his capital as the place of meeting, to 
superintend and control their deliberations ; and, finally, so 
to mould them that the chief glory and profit, both of the war 



196 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

and of the peace, should redound to himself and to his 
Empire. 

It cannot be denied that the chief gainer by this war was 
the Emperor of the French. Nor was it the least important 
of his advantages that he had become the ally of England. 
Previous to that alliance she had been his worst enemy among 
the nations. The tone of the whole English press in 1852, 
and previously, in reference to Louis Napoleon, was abusive 
and derisive in the extreme. There probably never was the 
same amount of printed ridicule heaped upon any one man, 
as that which the English press lavished on Louis Napoleon 
previous to this alliance. They stigmatized him in the vilest 
language as a despicable parvenu, as a worthless debauchee, 
as a stupid and silly adventurer, as devoid of all talent, and 
force or dignity of character ; and they asserted that his 
election to the presidency was an eternal and indelible dis- 
grace to the French people. The London Times especially, 
the great literary monster of the age, exhausted every resource 
of sarcasm and abuse on the unhappy aspirant to the imperial 
crown. 

It is both amusing in itself, and illustrative of the utter 
worthlessness of the popular hue and cry, to observe the total 
change of tone and sentiment which characterized the British 
press after the alliance with France had taken place, and 
during the progress and after the conclusion of the war. 
Between the years 1852 and 1855, by some potent and 
mysterious process, the character and almost the identity of 
Louis Napoleon had been totally changed. At the latter 
period the English press and people lauded him to the skies 
as a man of prodigious abilities, of great worth and dignity 
of character, of noble and lofty sentiments, as the saviour 
and benignant genius of France ; and his elevation to the 
imperial throne was spoken of as the most fortunate and pro- 
pitious event which had happened to France in many genei'a- 
tions. The London Times now became frantic in his praise. 
It could scarcely find language with which adequately to 



^ 



OF NAPOLEON III. 19t 



express the transcendeni merits of the very man upon whose 
head, three years before, it had exhausted every expression 
of contempt, hatred and derision. And it need scarcely be 
said, that to every reflecting and impartial mind, both the 
extreme of censure and the extreme of adulation were unde- 
served and unjust. Louis Napoleon is neither on the one 
hand an idiot or a demon ; nor is he on the other a demigod 
or an ano-el. 

So very popular had the alliance between France and Eng- 
land rendered Louis Napoleon in the latter country, that, in 
1855, he and the Empress Eugenie visited the British queen 
in her own dominions. The display of courtly pageantries 
and lavish hospitality, of aristocratic adulation and of popular 
applause, was prodigious and overwhelming. Addresses were 
made to his Imperial Majesty by the great corporations of 
the British capital. The style which characterized all these 
addresses may be inferred from one or two examples. We 
quote from those offered by the ancient and honorable Corpo- 
ration of Windsor, and by the Merchants, Bankers, and 
Brokers of London. The former body emitted the followinii- : 

"We are sensible. Sire, that to the wisdom and vigor of 
your Imperial Majesty's councils, and to your unceasing en- 
deavors to promote the true interests of the powerful and 
generous nation which Providence has committed to your 
care, may be attributed that prosperity and happiness which 
your country now so freely enjoys ; and we venture to augur 
that, by encouraging a friendly and personal intercourse be- 
tween your Imperial Majesty and the sovereign of Great 
Britain, your Majesty adopts the surest means, not only of 
strengthening a happy and stable alliance between the two 
countries, but of maintaining the liberties and civilization of 
Europe. 

" May your Imperial Majesty and your illustrious Consort 
long live to enjoy every domestic and personal blessing, 
and the loyalty and attachment of an admiring and grateful 
people.'* 

It* 



198 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

The address of the London naerchants contained, among 
other sentiments, the following : 

"We fervently rejoice in the advancing prosperity of 
France, in the consolidation of order, in the establishment 
of confidence, so eminently manifested under your Majesty's 
reign. 

" We desire that these blessings may continue ; that a 
growing and mutually advantageous commercial intercourse 
may be maintained between the two countries, — and, above 
all, that the inhabitants of both may be so connected by the 
ties of reciprocal esteem and good-will, that their present 
.amicable position may endure for this and succeeding gene- 
rations, to their common welfare, and the advancement of 
civilization throughout the world." 

The replies which the Emperor made to all these fond ad- 
dresses were calculated to flatter the pride of the British 
people, to increase his popularity with them, and to render 
the harmony of sentiment between the two nations more com- 
plete. The populace following the example set them by the 
court, expressed their admiration of the imperial visitor in 
the most extravagant and tumultuous manner. His appear- 
ance in the public highways was the signal for the joyous 
assembling of thousands ; and he who had formerly paced 
the streets of London almost destitute of a shilling, and de- 
pendent entirely upon the despotic yet amorous partiality of 
Mrs. Howard for his daily subsistence, now rode along the 
same streets as the honored guest of the British monarch, and 
overwhelmed with the rapturous adoration of that very same 
crowd, who-se disorders and breaches of the peace he had for- 
merly aided in person to suppress, as a London constable ! 

On the occasion of this visit the English press exceeded in 
its praises of the illustrious stranger, all its previous achieve- 
ments. The London Times as usual took the lead. The 
following extract from its columns is interesting, when con- 
trasted with the furious abuse of him, which several years 
before had been concocted by the same brain, which had been 



OF NAPOLEON III. 199 

printed by the same type, and which had been issued from 
the same office : 

"It was the associations connected with Napoleon the 
Third — the remembrance of his deeds, and the knowledge 
of his worth, which pressed along his progress the millions 
who this week have given to the world an imperishable testi- 
mony of their appreciation, their amply founded appreciation, 
of fortitude in troubles, energy in action, courage amidst dan- 
gers, and clemency amid triumphs. They honored the wis- 
dom and probity which occupied a mighty throne, and 
honored the thousand princely qualities which had won it : 
they honored the great man who had retrieved the prospe- 
rity and the power of France : they honored the good sove- 
reign, whose chief care is the welfare of his people ; and in 
the greeting offered to Napoleon, we may truly add, there 
w^as love for the nation which he had restored to its legitimate 
place amongst the powers of the earth at a moment most 
critical to its destinies, and given back, with the suddenness 
of enchantment, all its internal prosperity, after convulsions 
which made the most sanguine despair of its future. Given 
back ! He has opened for it a new career of unprecedented 
success ! '' 

The Emperor returned to his capital, greatly gratified with 
the results of his visit to the British queen. But his plea- 
surable sensations were somewhat diminished by an attempt 
to assassinate him on the 28th of April, when riding near the 
Barrier de I'Etoile, shortly after his return. On that occasion 
the Emperor behaved with his usual calmness of demeanor : 
and was the first to ride up to the Empress and assure her 
of his safety. In his address to the Senate in answer to their 
congratulations upon his escape, the Emperor remarked that 
there are some lives which could not be destroyed until they 
had fulfilled the destiny assigned them by Providence ; that 
his mission was not yet finished ; and that until it was com- 
pleted no assassin's blow could injure him. The best " Pro- 
vidence" which, on that occasion as well as several others, 



200 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

saved his life, was a fine coat of steel mail on which the 
utmost art of the armorer has been exhausted, which he con- 
stantly wore on his person.^ , 

A few months afterward, the prolific Queen of England re- 
turned the visit which the Emperor of the French had made 
her. On that memorable occasion, the brilliant capital of 
France assumed unwonted hues of splendor, and exhibited 
scenes of festivity and joy, such as probably Europe had 
never seen before. The "World's Exhibition of Industry'* 
had gathered together there a host of strangers, both opulent, 
eminent and obscure, from every quarter of the habitable globe. 
The great centre of modern civilization, luxury, art, science 
and fashion, exhausted all her infinite resources, to impress, 
delight and charm the royal visitor. During many ages 
there had never been such an event as these reciprocal visits 
between the English and French sovereigns ; and the occa- 
sion was rendered as memorable as human ingenuity combined 
with wealth, refinement, and liberality, could make it. It 
were vain and useless to attempt a description of that gay 
carnival which marked the presence of the British Queen and 
her attendants in Paris. The impression which was pro- 
duced upon the public mind by the events which there took 
place, maybe inferred from the following extract from one 
of the leading Parisian journals, which appeared at the ter- 
mination of the queen's visit : 

"France and England are at the head of the civilization 
of the world. They concur equally, although with qualities 

1 The assassin's name in this instance was Pianori. He approached 
the Emperor and fired twice. The second ball grazed Napoleon's 
hat. The assassin was immediately seized, and afterward tried, con- 
victed, and executed. A previous attempt to destroy Louis Napoleon 
had been made on the 4th of July, 1854, at the Opera Comiqae, by four 
men who stationed themselves at the door; bat their suspicious conduct 
caused them to be arrested. They were the agents of two secret socie- 
ties, composed of forty members, who had sworn to establish a republic 
and proclaim Blanqui dictator. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 201 

diverse, in the encouragement of human intelligence in the 
path of progress. They are by agreement to accomplish 
together that mission of peace which they have received from 
Providence, and from which they do not allow themselves to 
be led astray by the complaints and the irritations of envious 
and egotistical rivalries. When two nations intermingle and 
become identified in a perpetual exchange of ideas and 
things, how can they be otherwise than allies ? . . More than 
onee it has been attempted to disunite the two nations on the 
most frivolous and ridiculous pretexts. Scarcely two years 
ago, were we not witnesses to the strangest spectacle ? Have 
we not seen England a prey to illusions somewhat peurile, in 
a state of alarm about our designs, and arming herself to 
resist a chimerical invasion from France ? What suspicion 
and defiance ! What violence and insult ! Confidence is 
now happily re-established. The alliance which for a 
moment one might have conceived to be menaced has re- 
covered from that shock, and even those who repelled it with 
the greatest wrath and indignation proclaim it for evermore 
unshakable, and necessary for the prosperity, the glory, the 
honor of the country." 

The felicity of Louis Napoleon was now about to receive 
a further augmentation, and his sudden yet vigorous empire 
to be strengthened by an additional element of perpetuity and 
power. On the 14th of March, 1855, a son and heir was 
born to the Emperor. On this occasion, the accoucheur 
was M. Dubois, the grandson of that M. Dubois who offi- 
ciated in the same capacity to Maria Louisa some fifty years 
before, at the birth of the unfortunate King of Rome. He 
afterward received from the grateful Emperor a present of 
forty thousand francs ; being twice the sum bestowed by the 
first Emperor on the physician of the Austrian Princess. 

The joy exhibited throughout France, on the birth of the 
imperial prince, was excessive. The birth of the King of 
Rome had not elicited greater displays of enthusiasm. The 
name given to the new heir of the empire was Napoleon- 



202 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Louis-Eugene- Jean- Joseph- Prince of Algeria, and Fits de 
France. The addresses of congratulation sent to the happy- 
Emperor from all the corporations and cities of France were 
innumerable. To all of these, he made prudent and polite 
replies, which were well received. The following extracts 
will serve as specimens of the whole, and are useful as indi- 
cating the. prevalent feeling of the nation. The first was in 
reply to the address of the Senate : 

"The Senate has participated in my joy on hearing that 
Heaven has given me a son, and you have hailed as a happy 
event the birth of a child of France. I intentionally make 
use of that expression. In fact the Emperor Napoleon, my 
uncle, who had applied to the new system created by the re- 
volution all that was great and elevated in the old regime, 
had resumed that ancient denomination of the children of 
France. The reason is, gentlemen, that when an heir is born 
who is destined to perpetuate a national system, that child is 
not only the scion of a family, but also in truth the son of the 
whole country, and that appellation points out to him his 
duties. If this were true under the old monarchy, which re- 
presented exclusively the privileged classes, how much more 
so is it now, when the sovereign is the elect of the nation, the 
first citizen of the country, and the representative of the in- 
terests of all ? I thank you for the kind wishes which you 
have expressed for this child of France and for the Empress. " 

In reply to the congratulations of the Corps Legislatif, 
the Emperor delivered himself piously as follows: 

''I have been much affected at the manifestation of your 
feelings at the birth of a son whom Providence has given me. 
You have hailed in him the hope, so eagerly entertained by 
the nation, of the perpetuity of a system which is regarded 
as the surest guarantee of the general interests of the country ; 
but the unanimous acclamations which surround his cradle do 
not prevent me from reflecting on the destiny of those who 
have been born in the same place and under similar circum- 
stances. If I feel hopes that his fate may be more fortunate, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 203 

it is in the first place because I confide in Providence, because 
I cannot doubt its protection when seeing it raise up, by a 
concurrence of extraordinary circumstances, all that it was 
pleased to level forty years ago, as though it wished to give 
strength, by martyrdom and misfortune, to a new dynasty, 
springing from the ranks of the people."^ 

1 It was on this happy occasion that Louis Napoleon exhibited his 
clemency by visiting the Chateau d'Amboise, where the heroic Prince 
Abd-el-Kader was confined, by liberating him from his prison, and by 
providing handsomely for the support of the despoiled ruler of Algeria, 
Abd-el-Kader gratefully accepted the proffered boon ; but all the objects 
of Imperial generosity were not as appreciative of it. Immediately 
after the conclusion of the war in the Crimea, Barbes, the former con- 
spirator against the Provisional Government, wrote a letter to a friend, 
in which he expressed his joy at the triumph of the arms of France. 
This letter was shown to Louis Napoleon, who immediately ordered his 
release from prison, where he had been confined ever since his attempt 
against th^ government. But Barbes indignantly refused to receive 
his freedom from the hands of a despotic usurper. He insisted on 
remaining in prison. He was then expelled from it by main force. 
Unable to remain under lock and key, he refused to enjoy his liberty 
or even to live where a despot reigned, and fled to England. This is 
probably the most singular instance of ludicrous stubbornness on 
record. 



204 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Relation of Louis Napoleon to Marshal St. Arnaud — The Army of 
the Allies — St. Arnaud and the Coup d'Etat — He takes no part in 
the Revolution of February — Leading quality of St. Arnaud — His 
peculiar Afflictions — His Successes — The Slanders which those Suc- 
cesses elicited — The Mental Tortures which they inflicted on him — 
His only Remedy — St. Arnaud and the Priest — He is appointed 
Commander of the Army of the East — Suffers under a dreadful and 
fatal Disease — Proceedings at Varna — Embarkation for the Crimea — 
Battle of the Alma — Heroism of the Zouaves — Exertions of St. 
Arnaud — The Victory — He sleeps on the Battle-field — His Farewell 
to the Army — Resigns the Command to General Canrobert — His 
Death. 

In order to form a correct idea of the character and career 
of the Emperor of the French, it will be necessary to survey 
the qualities, and to sketch the history of those men who were 
his chief confederates, and his most important opponents. 
This will enable us to compute the nature of the difficulties 
which he overcame in his upward pathway to the throne ; and 
the varied intellectual resources w^hich eventually secured him 
the victory. Besides all this, the biographies of these men 
are interesting and important in themselves. 

Probably the most remarkable confederate of Louis Napo- 
leon, and the one to whose talents and labors he owes the 
greatest debt of obligation is Marshal St. Arnaud. 

It was on the 14th of September, 1854, that two hundred 
and eighty-four ships appeared on the Black Sea. Never 
before had so vast an armament pressed the bosom of that 
watery waste. It contained the confederate armies of Eng- 
land and France, sailing directly to the Crimea, for the pur- 
pose of subduing the Kussian Colossus. Lord Raglan, a 



OF NAPOLEON III. 205 

pupil and a type of the iron Wellington, commanded the 
English forces. St. Arnaud was the chief of the French 
troops. He was a warrior of a peculiar mould ; he was one 
of those adventurous captains who are frenzied with military- 
ardor ; who shine like meteors, and who are often eventually 
consumed by the intensity of their own heat. His greatness 
was tlie product of the last revolution ; for his ungovernable 
activity which would have been, and indeed long had been, 
suppressed and crushed by the prevalence of peace, had 
enabled him to rise to the summit of political importance, 
while less impetuous spirits prudently withdrew from the van 
of the contest. Marshal St. Arnaud, when the coup d^etat 
of December was determined upon by the President of France, 
stepped forward and demanded the chief post of danger on 
that memorable day. His offer was accepted ; and to his 
energy and talents the success of the movement was in a great 
measure attributable. 

St. Arnaud fought for twenty years in the deserts of Africa, 
and the captive Abd-el-Kader was a living trophy of his 
prowess. In these inferior positions, he often displayed supe- 
rior talents ; and Marshal Bugeaud even then discerned his 
future celebrity. Although St. Arnaud detested democracy 
and politics, yet that 'prejudice was only the result of a sol- 
dier's ignorance. He was one of the swords of France, one 
of her most efficient weapons, and it was only necessary for 
a crisis in the history of his country to occur, in which the 
combination of a sword and an intellect was necessary to 
strike a blow and to direct a movement of decisive import- 
ance, to enable him to display his real power and fulfil his 
legitimate destiny. Such a revolution was not that of Feb- 
ruary. St. Arnaud witnessed its progress and issue without 
concern. Consumed with disgust and contempt he returned 
to Algiers from his temporary visit to France ; he even looked 
with pity on his former comrades in arms who plunged 
eagerly into that commotion, — on Cavaignac, Bedeau, La- 
moriciere, Changarnier, and Leflo. He could not corapre- 
18 



206 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

hend why they should take an active part in such a revolu- 
tion ; why soldiers and heroes should fight for the supremacy 
of the rabble ; why their swords should be made props for 
anything but thrones and dynasties ; and in one of his letters 
from Algiers immediately after his return thither, he said : 
*' It is not yet time ; the great revolution in France and the 
last, has not yet come ; but it soon will come I" St. Arnaud 
y was a wise prophet as well as a brave soldier. The revolu- 

tion which was to seal his glory had not yet come ; but he 
entertained unbounded faith in its advent, nor was his confi- 
dence disappointed. 

The great conflict between the Executive and the Legis- 
lature in 1851, presented just such an occasion as the General 
desired, and he did not hesitate a moment which side to take. 
It was but reasonable that a soldier should declare himself 
for the ruling power. Louis Napoleon had formed a very 
correct idea of the character of St. Arnaud, who at that time 
commanded the division of Constantine. The latter suddenly 
learned that he was to be summoned to Paris, and that the 
porte-folio of the Minister of War was to placed in his hands. 
He at once discerned the path of destiny, and determined to 
accept the offer. 

The leading quality of men like St. Arnaud is, never to 
yield to the pressure of difficulties, and never to despair of 
success. At first indeed he had the modesty to feel some- 
what abashed at the novel duties which devolved upon him. 
But his genius was adapted to the emergency, and hence the 
glory and the success with which he executed the details of 
the coup d^etat which the sagacious Louis Napoleon entrusted 
to him. In reward for his services, the grateful despot 
heaped honors and rewards upon his head. He was made a 
Marshal of France. Wealth, influence and power were con- 
ferred upon him. He was prosperous and triumphant far 
beyond his most sanguine expectations. 

But all human happiness is imperfect, and every cup of 
bliss is alloyed with a bitter ingredient. In the midst of liis 



OF NAPOLEON III. 207 

good fortune, the Marshal was afflicted with many tortures, 
both physical and intellectual. The imagination of man can 
scarcely conceive the intensity of that misery which corroded 
the strong heart of this valiant and heroic soldier. In this 
respect the intensity of the Marshal's nature became his dead- 
liest curse. Such men as he always pass their whole lives in 
a fitful fever. They cannot make any allowance for the 
delicacy and the frailty of that casket — the body — in which 
the rich jewel of their souls is encased ; and hence it is 
often shattered and broken long before its time. 

At each point of his triumphant progress the Marshal was 
afflicted by the blows of misfortune, and each fresh promo- 
tion occasioned a new addition of mental suffering. Imme- 
diately after his promotion to the post of Minister of War, 
he was distressed with the death of his son, — a fair and talented 
youth in whom his soul's affections centred. The stricken 
father — the stern hero — exclaims with agony in a letter to a 
friend : "Poor child ! he was so noble, so strong, so brave ; 
and yet I must lose him ! I was too proud of him. He 
made me too happy. God has smitten me," From that 
hour forth the name of God was frequently uttered with reve- 
rence by the daring and reckless warrior, who had passed so 
many years in impiety and dissipation. 

Six weeks after the death of his son, St, Arnaud, whose 
domestic affections, like those of Mirabeau and Danton, were 
very strong, was again afflicted by the decease of his mother. 
But grief and suffering still threw their black shadows over 
his path. Let us briefly recount the steps of that Calvary 
on which at last he died ! As soon as the Marshal had at- 
tained the highest rank in the military hierarchy, the jealous 
spite of inferior and less successful men punished him for his 
success by the propagation of the most abominable calum- 
nies. All the unfortunate incidents of his stormy youth, when 
the impetuous impulses of his passions had Imrried hitn into 
many follies and misfortunes, were now exaggerated and nar- 
rated. It was said, among many other things, that when 



208 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

young he had been expelled from his regiment for theft ; that 
he had accumulated innumerable debts ; that when a vaga- 
bond and fugitive in London he had subsisted upon the 
charity of a prostitute, and had even pawned her clothes for 
bread; that he had committed rapes and seductions innu- 
merable ; that his fortunes had become desperate, and his 
character abandoned, in the extreme, when a lucky accident 
obtained him an inferior appointment in the army about to 
proceed to the conquest of Algiers. 

The Marshal was informed of these, and many other 
slanders. There is always in such cases an officious friend 
whose " excellent intentions" induce him to repeat them to 
the subject of them. These detractors irritated and mortified 
him beyond endurance ; for they defaced and deformed all 
that his long labors had been spent in attaining, — his rank, 
his fame, and his popularity with the army. St. Arnaud's 
spirit — always strong, firm, and impetuous in its impulses — 
chafed like a caged Numidian lion within his bosom, at the 
consciousness of the existence of these reports. But it was 
utterly impossible to put a stop to their diffusion. It is pos- 
sible to say to an editor, you shall not write offensive or hos- 
tile articles ; to a journalist, your paper is suppressed ; to a 
legislative assembly, you shall not discuss any topic which has 
not been proposed by the ministers. But no human power 
can silence the tongues of myriads of intelligent, gossipping, 
and satirical people ; nor prevent gay and talkative women 
of fashion, while reclining in their luxurious arm-chairs, in 
the confidence and familiarity of the drawing-room, from ut- 
tering gracefully those witty and sarcastic jests which indicate 
both their talent and their unfriendliness ; which fly swiftly 
as with the wings of a vulture, and lacerate the reputation as 
with a vulture's claws. The ancient story of Prometheus was 
an admirable illustration of the process and the results of 
calumny. Some wise men can despise all this ; but the Mar- 
shal was not one of these fortunate few. 

In his confidential intercourse with his brother St. Ariiaud 



OF NAPOLEON III. 209 

betrayed the secret of his mental tortures. He had errone- 
ously imagined that a man might remain a private individual 
as to private character, after he had embarked on the stormy 
and malignant sea of politics. He even believed that three 
or four powerful factions might be crushed without exciting 
revengeful emotions. He thought that, in a public career, all 
the follies of youth, its vices and its excesses, were redeemed 
and wiped away by the subsequent acquisition of military 
glory. But he soon discovered his mistake. He found that 
the great and rich hated him for his success ; and that the 
miserable thousands who, in the garrets and cellars of the 
capital, were dying of hunger, the crushed Orleanists, the Red 
Republicans, the Bourbonists, and the Moderate Republicans, 
— all were ready to secure a crust of bread and to satiate 
their jealousy and hatred, by the utterance of the most out- 
rageous calumnies against him. Thus the Marshal, in spite 
of all his glory, was a constant prey to anxiety and secret 
chagrin. He suffered from what he knew was said against 
him ; and he suffered even still more from the formless and 
uncertain apprehension of what he only suspected might 
have been uttered. 

There was but one possible relief to all this agony. He 
needed greater fame ; that wish made him sleepless. He 
formed the last and most desperate resolution of which such 
a man under such circumstances is capable : — that of con- 
founding all his enemies by the splendor of new military 
achievements. Physical suffering, the result of early indis- 
cretions, together with anguish of mind, darkened his soul. 
The mystic angel had drawn around him, and enclosed him 
within a circle, into which no one but his young and beautiful 
wife dared to penetrate. To her he communicated his inmost 
thoughts and emotions ; and she approved of the resolution 
which he had taken, to enter again upon the fifld of conflict. 
He did not exclaim like Map.fried, to the rocks and abysses : 
" Forgetfulness and oblivion !" But he cried out with ardor 
and earnestness: "An army! an army! a battle!" And 
18* o 



210 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

thus it was that to St. Arnaud the war in the Crimea was the 
most fortunate and propitious event in the world. It was the 
only medicine for the wounded and bleeding heart of this man 
so long tossed upon stormy seas, so often shipwrecked, so 
frequently saved from ruin, so triumphant, and yet so miser- 
able. It was in truth his only hope. 

Louis Napoleon was both sagacious and grateful. He saw 
precisely the position of St. Arnaud, and he resolved that he 
should have the command which he desired. The Army of 
the East was placed under his orders. 

Before setting out on this last great expedition the Marshal 
spent a short time in the distant and quiet shades of a small 
island called Hyeres, in the repose of whose umbrageous 
retreat he endeavored to calm and soothe his chafing spirit. 
Here he accidentally met an humble and obscure priest, a man 
from whose breast all worldly strifes and passions had been 
expelled ; a man who felt the vanity of all earthly things, 
and who lived alone for contemplation and for virtue. The 
hero of Algiers formed with this excellent person one of those 
short and sweet friendships which are so disinterested, which 
are so rare in their occurrence, which are so soothing to the 
afflicted spirit, and which resemble so much the ideal and 
romantic loves of youth 

*' There's nothing half so sweet in life 
As love's young dream," 

save friendship such as this ! The great soldier and the pious 
priest held many long conversations together as they walked 
upon the shore, and listened to the sublime and never-ceasing 
melody of old ocean, or as they sat beneath the refreshing 
shadows of some leafy bower. As the cool water brooks in 
a thirsty land revive the fainting soul of the traveller, so the 
intelligent and religious conversation of the pastor cheered 
and purified the turbulent and vexed spirit of that famous man 
of war. From that hour forth till the day of his death, the 
thoughts of God and of sublimer and better things than 



OF NAPOLEON III, 211 

earth, were deeply impressed upon the heart of St. Arnaud. 
Such results sometimes occur in the sin.o:u]ar and multiform 
developments of human character, amid the vicissitudes of life. 

The Marshal returned to Paris. The Army of the East 
was about to embark. The excitement of preparation and 
command suspended for a time his mental sufferings. The 
hope of wiping away every stain from his fame and character 
by great exploits ; the thought of engaging and vanquishing 
the mighty Muscovite power, upon which achievement he had 
often meditated in the still and starry nights of his African 
bivouacs, inspired him with great joy He felt that his youth 
was again renewed, that his soul was quickened and invigo- 
rated, that the mental and physical strength of manhood had 
returned. There might yet, on new fields of glory and in fresher 
wreaths of immortality, be found happiness for St. Arnaud ! 

In all things St. Arnaud was destined to contradictions 
and disappointments. Scarcely had he embarked when he 
was seized with a terrible and consuming malady, and the 
Generalissimo of the allied armies was stretched on a thorny 
couch, like a chained captive, at an hour when vigilance, 
strength, and activity, should have been his pre-eminent 
characteristics. This terrible disease — the ossification of the 
heart — affected every part of his system. Repose was for 
days a stranger to him. The pernicious fevers of the Asiatic 
frontier of Europe were added to this disease; and these, 
combined with the remains of former attacks resulting from 
other causes, produced physical sufferings so excruciating that 
sometimes the strong intellect of St. Arnaud was overwhelmed 
by them, and he raved with the paroxysms of madness. At 
length he ceased to believe in the impotent power of medicine, 
and he looked for his only cure in the cannon's mouth. 

When the army arrived at Yarna. other disappointments 
befell the Marshal. The necessary stores did not arrive in 
time. Strange and miserable imbecility characterized the 
proceedings of the English cabinet, and the English com- 
manders. The cholera began to rage among his troops, water 



212 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

was almost inaccessible, and the calamities of conflagration 
increased the horrors of the scene. A seventh part of the 
city of Yarna was destroyed by fire. With death working 
literally at his heart, the heroic Marshal gazed upon the 
strange and appalling spectacle around him. He wrote to 
his brother on the 9th of August, 1854 : "I am in the midst 
of a vast sepulchre-. To all appearance I am very gay ; but 
in reality ray heart is broken. " To complete his misery, he 
saw the Russians retreating, and the alluring chance of an 
immediate battle and victory was lost. He beheld the future 
fortunes of the war involved more completely in the diplomatic 
web which the perfidious and selfish policy of Austria was 
weaving for herself, and his ardent and impulsive spirit cursed 
her perfidy in no measured terms. In these moments his 
misfortunes seem almost to have overwhelmed him.. The sweet 
dream of glory which had sustained and cheered him, now 
appeared to desert him. His situation daily became at Yarna 
more dreadful. It seemed as if the army under his command, 
by no fault of his, had been brought thither to perish without 
having fought a single battle. Said he, in a letter to a friend, 
" I study, I look around me for resources and expedients, I 
ask assistance from God ; but I recoil with grief at the fearful 
reality." This reality was the increasing prevalence of 
cholera among the soldiers, the want of provisions, the un- 
certainty of the future, and his own diminishing physical 
health. Then he began to measure his strength as the miser 
counts his gold, when he sees it rapidly diminishing. He 
desired to make good use of his remaining time in executing 
immediate and decisive measures ; but he was hampered and 
impeded by the sluggishness, imbecility, and cowardice of 
Lord Raglan. He urged the desirableness and the certain 
success of his plans with that superannuated hero ; and at 
length, after great exertions, his eloquence succeeded in 
infusing into the council the necessity of immediately leaving 
Yarna and embarking for the Crimea. 

The expedition was resumed. As long as there was op- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 213 

portunity for action the fever which burned in the veins of St. 
Arnaud sustained him. But after this council of war, in 
which he had, with great effort, carried his point; when he 
was alone in his tent thinking of his young wife, his daughter, 
his friends, and France, the domestic delights of the fireside, 
and the delicious green fields and breezy hills of his own rural 
residence, he exclaimed, with a heart oppressed with sadness 
and anxiety : " Ah, Montalais 1 Montalais ! when shall I bury 
myself again in your sweet retreat, and enjoy in your delight- 
ful tranquillity, true happiness, far from all business and 
mankind ! " 

On the 14th of September, 1854, the allied troops disem- 
barked at the " Old Fort" in the Crimea. The dying Mar- 
shal, for such by this time he really was, rejoiced at the pros- 
pect of striking one blow at least for France before he expired. 
It was truly wonderful to observe how this undaunted hero 
deceived the army as to his real condition for some time 
longer, by his almost supernatural activity. He passed whole 
days in the saddle. He hastened every movement of the 
troops. Minutes then possessed to him the magnitude and 
the importance of years. 

On the 19th of September the march began from the " Old 
Fort." The army was drawn up in the shape of a wedge ; 
the division of General Canrobert- formed the point; and the 
advance toward the Alma began. The allied fleet remained 
at anchor, sweeping with its guns the position of the Rus- 
sians, and the far-famed marksmen of Finland. The army 
of the Russians under Prince Menzikoff awaited the approach 
of the Allies, posted, forty-five thousand in number, on the 
rugged heights of the right bank of the Alma. The next day 
the battle began at six o'clock in the morning. We will not 
follow the details of the conflict. There had been long dis- 
putes in the council of war, on the preceding night, as to the 
plan of attack. The dying Marshal was again compelled to 
encounter all the obstacles which cowardice and ignorance 
had opposed to his movements at Yarna. Even General 



214 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Busquet resisted, on this occasion, the proposed execution of 
that very rotatory movement, in which he afterwards won so 
much glory ; and it was astonishing to observe how much 
self-command and clearness of mind St. Arnaud displayed in 
that vexatious council of war, the last in which he ever took 
part. 

The battle was fought with great bravery, especially by the 
French. The heroic Zouaves climbed, in the face of a sweep- 
ing fire, abrupt and dizzy heights, where the chamois could 
scarcely find footing. After the chief brunt of the battle had 
been sustained by the French, the English came slowly up to 
the attack. The conflict lasted for many hours, but toward 
night the Russians were completely routed, and were dis- 
lodged from every position. Had he possessed the command 
of sufficient cavalry St. Arnaud would have pursued the van- 
quished to the gates of Sevastopol, and the war might have 
been ended with one blow. But in this purpose his ardent 
spirit, consuming itself with its last expiring fury, was over- 
ruled. Lord Raglan again interfered. 

St. Arnaud encamped that night in the midst of the dying 
and the dead, on the field of glory which his own valor had 
won. Extended on the ground, on some hay, and covered 
with a military cloak, he passed a night of agony and exhaus- 
tion. Such immense ravages had disease made on his person 
that he was scarcely recognizable. The army remained three 
days without advancing, in opposition to his wishes. At 
length when the camp was pitched near " Makenzie's farm" 
he was attacked with cholera, and his condition became de- 
plorable in the extreme. He found his strength utterly fail- 
ing, and he was compelled to resign his command to some 
successor. Surrounded by his friends and staff he prepared 
to transmit an order to the oldest general of division in the 
army, conferring on him the authority of commander-in-chief, 
when an officer, who had been slightly wounded at Alma six 
days before, approached him and handed him a sealed letter. 
This letter the officer had carried from the beginning of the 



OF NAPOLEON III. 215 

campaign. In it the Emperor of the French gave to him the 
command of the French army, in case of the death or resig- 
nation of St. Arnaud. That officer was General Canrobert. 
The veteran warrior at once obeyed the imperial will. He 
next bade adieu to the army. He rode through the ranks in 
an open carriage, wrapped in his pelisse, with a Turkish cap 
on his head, reclining on cushions, faint, emaciated, and dy- 
ing. The soldiers left their ranks, crowded around the car- 
riage, and wept. He extended his hand to them ; and as 
many of the impetuous Zouaves as could touch it, kissed it. 
After this Lord Raglan, General Canrobert, and General 
Busquet, visited him in his tent, and bade him farewell. He 
was thence removed to one of the vessels riding at anchor in 
the bay. There he immediately received the last sacraments 
of religion from a Catholic priest ; and he rapidly sank from 
day to day, until at last his eyes were closed in death, "as 
calmly as flowers at set of sun,'' on the 29th day of Septem- 
ber, 1854. 

Such was the life and such the death of Marshal St. 
Arnaud ; a man of great talents, and of strong and ungo- 
vernable passions ; whose youth was spent in turbulent vice ; 
whose riper years were devoted to the attainment of military 
glory ; who rose at last to the first rank in his profession ; 
,who was the most efficient support and instrument of Louis 
Napoleon in attaining supreme power ; and whose whole life 
and most brilliant achievements were all tarnished and em- 
bittered by those early excesses, whose sti^uma and whose 
curse followed him implacably to the grave I He was the 
military Miraheau of the Nineteenth Century. 



216 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



CHAPTER Xiy. 

General Canrobert — His peculiar Genius — His remarkable Activity 
and Vigilance — His personal Appearance — His Birth and Youth — 
His Exploits in Algiers — His conduct in the Crimea — He succeeds 
St. Arnaud to the Chief Command — Lord RadcliflFe — Difficulties of 
Canrobert's position — He resigns the Chief Command — Is the victim 
of Diplomacy— His Mission to Sweden — A Greek Myth — The future 
of Canrobert and Pelissier. 

General Canrobert, who succeeded St. Arnaud in the 
command of the French army in the Crimea, was a man not 
unworthy of the high post to which the discernment and the 
partiality of Louis Napoleon advanced him. His nature 
was essentially sympathetic and generous ; his intellect ex- 
ceedingly prompt, energetic, and penetrating. He differed 
from his predecessor in one great feature, that he never 
wished merely to play a part, or to seem a hero ; but he aimed 
at being what honor and duty impelled him to seem. He was 
very affable and accessible to the soldiers ; and possessed a 
happy originality of manner in his addresses to them, which 
riveted their attention, and v/on their applause. Thus on 
one occasion addressing the calvary, he said to them : " You 
are living balls, which I throw when and where I please.'^ 
Hence he soon became the favorite of the army. After their 
return from the Crimea, Canrobert, who had preceded them, 
was ordered by the Emperor to repair to Lyons, and meet 
them there. As soon as the Crimean veterans beheld him 
they shouted with joy : " There he is ; there is our father !" 

This title Canrobert had deserved by his conduct at Se- 
vastopol. During the winter which preceded the fall of that 
great fortress, he had displayed the utmost solicitude for the 
comfort of his men. He endeavored assiduously to pave the 
way to future victory by sustaining the moral courage of 



OF NAPOLEON III. 21T 

troops already exhausted by famine, exposure and pestilence. 
He was constantly on duty. He was always serving at the 
trenches. He proved by his bold and daring deportment 
that he entertained more solicitude for the lives of others, 
than he did for his own. He was the Lannes of the French 
army in the Crimea. 

In person Marshal Canrobert resembles a village beadle. 
His figure is not large, and the peculiar feature of his face 
is a small, round, up-turned nose. No one w^ould ever ima- 
gine from his appearance that he was one of the most able 
and brilliant military men in Europe. His bravery was almost 
fabulous, and he seemed to pass through a shov/er of balls and 
bullets as an actor does through the sham fights of the theatre. 
His w-hole history proves that he has always been a favorite 
of fortune. Every dynasty in France has had its eminent 
military leaders. Thus under Louis Philippe, Marshal 
Bugeaud was the popular hero. Under the Republic there 
were Lamoriciere, Changarnier, and Cavaignac ; and under 
Louis Napoleon, Busquet and Canrobert have inherited the 
glory and the power of their predecessors. 

Marshal Canrobert was born in 1810. In 1828 he left St. 
Cyr as a sub-lieutenant ; two years afterward he obtained a 
slight promotion, and was then sent to Algiers. That coantry 
is the classic land which for twenty years has been the nursery 
of French generals and heroes. It is an excellent field for 
the development of physical strength, and for the exhibition 
of multiform bravery ; but it has been asserted that that war of 
thickets, and those skirmishes with an enemy who were as 
quiet as a reptile, was not a scene propitious for the develop- 
ment of military genius. Nevertheless, such as the war was, 
Canrobert distinguished himself by his skill and daring on many 
occasions. At the storming of Hemsen he received the brevet 
of Captain. In 1850 he had risen to the rank of General 
of brigade. In 1853 he was made General of division. In 
that year Louis Napoleon appointed Canrobert his aid-de- 
camj}. He had formed a very high estimate of the bravei-y, 
19 



218 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

the capacity and the fidelity of the General ; and moreover 
esteemed him as 2i fortunate man. Such men the Emperor 
has always attached to himself, having faith in their star. 
He avoids unfortunate men, however talented and meritorious 
they may be, although he himself for many years was con- 
stantly and pre-eminently the victim of misfortune. 

The chief exploit of Canrobert in Africa was his celebrated 
retreat from Bousaada. In that achievement he was sur- 
rounded and blockaded by an overwhelming force. The 
plague also infested his ranks, yet he succeeded in escaping 
safely by the employment of a skilful stratagem, and released 
his weak detachment from their perilous position without any 
serious loss. 

When General Canrobert arrived at the Crimea, he was 
heralded by quite a distinguished reputation. Called, very 
soon after the opening of these tremendous conflicts, to assume 
the chief command, his conduct exhibited from the first the 
utmost energy, capacity, and forethought. His arrangement 
of the campaign was adroit and skilful, and his personal con- 
duct everywhere was intrepid in the extreme. He was 
wounded both at Inkermann and at the Alma. During the 
long and desperate siege of Sevastopol, his soldiers, exposed 
to the rigors of winter, to the ravages of disease, and to the 
constant fire of the Russians from their batteries, would have 
perished by thousands and myriads, had not his solicitude for 
their welfare, and his admirable prudence and energy inter- 
posed. His vigilance was remarkable. At the first sound 
of the guns of the Russians, whether in day-time or the night, 
he mounted his horse ; he dispatched his aids-de-camp every- 
where ; he visited in person the scene of danger ; he superin- 
tended every movement ; and he remained with his troops 
until the conflict w^as ended. His return to his tent, after 
such scenes, drew forth the enthusiasm of his soldiers, and 
huzzas in his honor often resounded from one end of the 
French lines to the other. 

During the progress of the siege Lord Radclifi'e was sent 



OF NAPOLEON III. 219 

by the British government to visit Sevastopol, and examine 
the camp of the Allies. In the execution of his researches 
he stopped at the tent of Canrobert. Scarcely had they com- 
menced to converse when the sudden thunder of the distant 
cannon of the Russians resounded over the plain. Several 
aids-de-camp immediately entered for orders. Canrobert 
rose from his seat, told Lord Radcliffe that the enemy had 
commenced a sortie, and that he must mount his horse and 
visit the scene of conflict. The English ambassador expressed 
a desire to accompany the French commander. The latter 
instantly acquiesced, and the horses were ordered. They 
rode together to the battle-field, and continued their conversa- 
tion almost under the Russian batteries ; but Lord Radcliffe 
could not discover any of the troops of the Allies, though he 
saw plainly that the artillery swept the trenches, that clouds 
of dust and smoke were rising from the ravines, and he heard 
loud echoes reverberating from the rocks. " It is not pos- 
sible," said Lord Radcliffe, "that our soldiers are fighting 
in those hollows. " Canrobert replied : "These ravines, my 
lord, are our battle-fields ; and it is proper that I should par- 
ticularly call the attention of a visitor like yourself to the 
singular and unfortunate position in which our diplomatists 
have placed these brave soldiers. They fight under the most 
desperate disadvantages ever known in the history of war- 
fare. " Lord Radcliffe could not but admit the truth of the 
assertion. 

When General Canrobert was entrusted with the supreme 
command, he found not only those perplexing questions of 
diplomacy which had so much embarrassed St, Arnaud, en- 
tangling and confining himself; but he met with other annoy- 
ances to which his predecessor had been a stranger. His 
former companions were now his subordinates ; and his sud- 
den elevation above them wounded their self-love. The rigor- 
ous mechanism and discipline of the military hierarchy does 
not permit the least resistance to be made to these changes 
and promotions. The chief difficulty of this description Can- 



220 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

robert encountered with the haughty veteran of Waterloo who 
commanded the British forces. Lord Raglan felt and exhi- 
bited great repugnance to act as an equal in authority with a 
young general, so recently his inferior. The consequence was 
that for a time, the unity of strength was broken, and great 
delays ensued. The same disadvantages resulted which, as 
Homer relates, followed the quarrels of the Greek princes 
around the walls and fortresses of the ancient city of Priam. 
The magnanimity of General Canrobert made every effort to 
overcome and dissipate this feeling on the part of Lord 
Raglan. He was convinced indeed, as was Omer Pacha, 
that by stopping at Sevastopol the Allies were only singeing 
the hair of the Russian bear ; but the diplomatists had con- 
trived and decreed that it should be so, and he was compelled 
to submit. The difficulties between the two allied comman- 
ders increased, until at length co-operation became impos- 
sible. Canrobert then offered to resign to the intractable 
Raglan the entire direction of the operations. The proposal 
was accepted ; but Lord Raglan immediately determined on 
such measures as rendered a rupture between the two armies 
and their generals inevitable. Canrobert, rather than increase 
the difficulty, resigned the chief command entirely, requesting 
the Emperor to appoint Marshal Pelissier in his place. His 
request was complied with ; although Louis jSTapoleon w^ould 
have preferred General Busquet as incumbent of that post. 

General Canrobert, when again placed at the head of his divi- 
sion, conducted himself with the same ability and energy which 
had always characterized him. He had been made the victim 
of the politic maxim of the Austrian cabinet, who professed 
to contract and localize the war, and who entertained the 
selfish and ambitious design of acting as the mediatrix between 
the contending nations of a continent. Canrobert was de- 
feated by the intrigues of Lord John Russel and Druin de 
L'Huys, and made a sacrifice to the alliance between England 
and France. 

But as is his invariable custom, the Emperor Napoleon was 



OF NAPOLEON III. 221 

faithful to his devoted servant, and two months after his resig- 
nation of the chief command he bestowed upon him the baton 
of a marshal ; thus raising him to the highest rank in the 
military hierarchy. 

After his return from the Crimea, Marshal Canrobert was 
dispatched upon a diplomatic mission to Sweden, for the pur- 
pose of obtaining the hand of the fair Princess Vasa in mar- 
riage for the Emperor of the French. It is a circumstance 
illustrative of the tangled involutions of the web of European 
politics, and especially of that Gordian knot known as the 
Eastern Question, that the influence and intrigues of Russia 
at the Court of Stockholm, prevented the Marshal from con- 
ducting the blooming Swedish princess to the nuptial bed 
now occupied by the beautiful Countess de Teba. What con- 
sequences might have ensued to the future destinies of France 
and Europe had the Swedish match been consummated, it 
would be very difficult to predict. The Empress Eugenie had 
most excellent reasons for receiving the visit of the Russian 
Grand Duke Constantine at the Court of the Tuilleries in 
1857, with the utmost cordiality and the most magnificent 
hospitality. 

General Pelissier was the most fortunate of all the Gene- 
rals who combatted in the Crimean war. He succeeded in 
reducing Sevastopol, and in eventually accomplishing the 
purpose of the Allies. Lord Raglan fell a victim to the 
cholera ; and like St. Arnaud, he never saw the conclusion 
of the conflict. If the myth of the ancient Greeks were 
true, that in the future existence there are eternal groves be- 
neath whose fragrant shades the illustrious dead are permitted 
to wander, what sad and affecting confidences would pass 
between the souls of Lord Raglan and St. Arnaud, in those 
peaceful Elysian realms, respecting the stormy and anxious 
scenes in ihe midst of which they both took their departure 
from the world ! 

Since the conclusion of the war in the Crimea, Marshals 
Canrobert and Pelissier have both enjoyed the favor of the 
19* 



222 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Emperor of the French ; and they now repose upon their 
hardly-earned laurels, in the midst of scenes of courtly mag- 
nificence ; their names are inseparably identified with great 
historical events ; and their fortunes and reputations are 
placed upon a secure and brilliant elevation. It is scarcely 
probable that they will ever be called upon to enter the field 
of battle again, or to lead the French armies to conquest and 
glory in future years. Yet should such an emergency occur, 
it may reasonably be inferred that the. names of Pelissier, 
Canrobert, and Busquet, will re-appear in connection with ex- 
ploits which will invest them with brighter lustre, and add re- 
newed freshness to those laurels which the progress of time 
may have faded and withered. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 223 



CHAPTER XV. 

The great rival of Louis Napoleon — Marshal Bugeaud's estimate of 
Cavaignac — A better Estimate of him — His conduct as Dictator of 
France — Cavaignac's Birth and Early Histoi-y — He makes the Cam- 
paign of the Morea — Policy of Louis Philippe — Cavaignac is sent to 
Algiers — His Bravery and Ability there — The Revolution of 1848 in 
France — The Provisional Government appoint him Governor-General 
of Algiers — He declines the ofl&ce of Minister of War — Resentment 
of the Provisional Government — He accepts the post of Minister of 
War from the Republic — The Downfall of the Executive Commission 
— Cavaignac appointed Dictator of France — His Cabinet — Results 
of his Measures — Louis Napoleon elected President — Subsequent 
Insignificance of Cavaignac — He is arrested at the Coup d' Etat — 
Conduct of Mademoiselle Odiei' — Correspondence between Cavaignac 
and De Morny — Cavaignac's release from Prison — His Marriage to 
Mdlle. Odier — His subsequent Obscurity — His Death. 

There was a man in France possessing remarkable qualities 
and great eminence, both as a soldier and as a statesman ; 
who was the chief rival of Louis Napoleon in his am- 
bitious pathway ; who on several critical occasions stood 
between him and the possession of supreme power ; and who 
was the rallying point and the hope of a large and influ- 
ential party in France, who patiently await the hour which 
will bring about the downfall of the second empire. That 
man was Eugene Cavaignac. 

Marshal Bugeaud said of him, about the period of the 
sortie of TIemsen in Algiers, that he was an ardent, well- 
trained officer, capable of intense devotion, possessed of su- 
perior talents, adapted to great things ; and that, if he lived, 
he would one day achieve distinction. This judgment of the 
Marshal respecting Cavaignac needed only one restriction to 
make it perfectly correct. He should have added : provided 



224 PXJBLTC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Cavaignac remained in the military profession, and did not 
/ venture into politics. For to govern a great and fickle 

people like the French, other qualities are requisite beside 
zeal, talent, ardor, knowledge, and decision ; for these were all 
the mental gifts which Cavaignac possessed. Reaching the 
Dictatorship by means of a vast expenditure of blood, he 
perceived, when it was too late, that a man may be a bad 
statesman, though an excellent general of division. At 
least, he never understood the cause of his own inefficiency ; 
and wasted in a barren and unprofitable struggle, which pro- 
cured him no accession of glory, all the enthusiasm of the 
Is^ational Guards and all the resources of the Treasury. The 
laurel wreath which surrounded his brow as Dictator, was 
stained with the blood of a civil w^ar. 

There can be no doubt but that General Cavaignac would, 
at one time, have sacrificed unhesitatingly all his dreams of 
ambition for the good of the Republic. Not that he was a 
Republican more than anything else ; for he was destitute of a 
fixed political faith ; he was irresolute, vacillating, and better 
acquainted with Algiers than he was with France ; he had no 
historical acquaintance with the past, and no talent for 
government ; he simply felt a desire to possess the supreme 
power, and, aided by a variety of accidental circumstances, 
it was placed in his hands. But the moment he saw the 
sceptre in his grasp he felt incompetent to wield it, and v/as 
utterly ignorant how he should exercise his authority. He 
concluded to act violently in a country which needed concilia- 
tion above all things else, and to apply the laws and regula- 
tions of the barracks to a Legislative Assembly composed of 
talented, excited, and desperate adventurers. He acted while 
Dictator as if he believed that good order could not be main- 
tained in France except by a system of rigor which debased 
human nature, and degraded the genius of a nation. Thus, 
whenever a man undertakes a task for which he is incompetent, 
he plunges into an abyss, and he drags with him into its fatal 



OF NAPOLEON III. 225 

depths, the nation, the party, or the family, who had been 
unfortunate enouprh to select him as their leader. 

Eugene Cavaig-nac, to whom alone of all Frenchmen 
belonged the. honor of having possessed a Dictatorship in 
France, not only in reality but also in name — was born at 
Paris, in October, 1802. He was the younger brother of God- 
frey Cavaignac — a name whose memory will always be che- 
rished by French Republicans. There are some persons who, 
from their birth, are consecrated to some particular profession, 
such as the church or the camp. By all his family associations 
Eugene Cavaignac was devoted from his youth to Demo- 
cracy. This was his misfortune, for nature in no respect had 
designed him for political life. As an advocate or as an 
editor he might have attained some little distinction. As a 
statesman he could never have become really illustrious. 

In his youth, in 1820, he was admitted to the Polytechnic 
School of Paris. He was not distinguished by superior 
talents or attainments while a student. He remained in that 
institution during two years. He left it as a sub-lieutenant to 
enter the Military School of Metz. Here he remained three 
years. In 1826 he attained the rank of Lieutenant. In 
1828 he made the campaign of the Morea. France, now so 
firmly allied to Turkey was, at that time, and in that conflict, 
the friend of Greece. Russia had not yet unmasked her real 
purposes. The Greeks were fighting for freedom, for a glo- 
rious country; and a patriotic young officer like Cavaignac 
could not look upon such a struggle without interest. After 
the conclusion of the conflict in Greece he returned to France ; 
and when the revolution of 1830 broke forth, Cavaignac 
hoped, along with thousands of others, that the era of a true 
Republic in France had at last arrived. They soon discovered 
their error, and found that the elevation of the " money-bag- 
king," Louis Philippe, was the signal for the advancement 
of the interests of the middle classes, or the Bourgeoisie. 
The French monarch was only the head and chief of the two 
hundred and twenty-two thousand "copy-holders of the 

P 



226 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

electoral system," which was destroyed in 1848. Louis 
Philippe patronized the middle classes, and endeavored to 
promote their interests at the expense of the nation, because 
he hated the high aristocracy, inasmuch as many of them 
were impoverished, and because they regarded the Orleans 
dynasty as an illegitimate upstart ; and he hated the masses 
because they were poor and vulgar, because he feared them, 
and because he could not extort much money from them. He 
was enough of an aristocrat himself to despise those who were 
ignobly born ; and he was also conscious that the rabble, the 
working classes, as he termed them, would more strictly hold 
him to an account for the way in which he redeemed the solemn 
pledges with which he ascended the throne of the barricades. 
It was the adroit policy of Louis Philippe to send such 
military Republicans as Cavaignac to Algiers. They could 
there find an outlet for their ardor which did not endanger 
the stability of his throne. In Algiers Cavaignac passed the 
most creditable period of his life. There he exhibited great 
talents. On the battle-field he displayed extraordinary intel- 
ligence, fortitude, and activity. He frequently astonished 
military veterans like Marshal Bugeaud by the rare combina- 
tion of his soldier-like qualities. He was left by Marshal 
Clausel with a handful of soldiers in Tlemsen. This Arabian 
town was situated in the desert like an island in the midst of 
the ocean. Hosts of hostile Arabs hovered around it. Cut 
off from all communication with the French army, with no 
hope of an accession of men or of ammunition, the little gar- 
rison was compelled, at one and the same time, to repel the 
attacks of the enemy without, and to curb the movements of 
a hostile population within. During eighteen months this 
state of things continued, and, notwithstanding the extra- 
ordinary difficulties of his position, Cavaignac succeeded in 
keeping the town, in conciliating the inhabitants, in building 
hospitals and barracks. In the final triumph of the French 
arms, which eventually made Algiers an unresisting province 
and appendage of France, General Cavaignac bore a dis- 



OF NAPOLEON III, 227 

tinguished part. He was the commander of the corps of the 
Zouaves — soldiers whose peculiar merits were not then so 
universally known, but which the memorable scenes of the 
Crimea have fully and amply illustrated. In April, 1840, 
he was engaged in the battle of Cherchell, which lasted during 
the immense period of twelve days, and then he received a 
severe and dangerous wound in the thigh. In August, 1841, 
he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. In September, 
1844, he received his commission as General of Brigade. 
The adventurous soldier was destined to attain the loftiest 
summit of the military hierarchy. 

When the heroic Abd-el-Kader, as a last resort to save his 
falling country, proclaimed a "holy war" against the French, 
Cavaignac may be said to have begun a battle which con- 
tinued till March, 1846. The expedition to the Atlas, a hun- 
dred leagues from Tlemsen, was followed by the final submis- 
sion of the Arabs, and by the capture of their celebrated 
chief. Cavaignac was appointed in the place of General La- 
moriciere as Governor of the Province of Oran. In this 
office he vigorously prosecuted the plans of military coloniza- 
tion which Marshal Bugeaud had begun at Orleansville. 

The revolution of 1848 suddenly changed Cavaignac's 
whole career. He was then forty-six years of age. He 
had served his country with honor and success. But he 
longed for influence and power at the centre and seat of both. 
The day after the downfall of the throne of Louis Philip))e, 
he started for Paris in company with Changarnier and La- 
moriciere. He exclaimed, when he first heard of the kinu-'s 
flight: "In six months France will be ruled by Henry Y.'' 
Fifteen years before, Cavaignac would have enthusiastically 
saluted the young republic, which he had so many causes to 
admire and defend. 

In proportion as Cavaignac ascended in the military hier- 
archy, his attachment to Democracy became more and more 
feeble ; until at last he maintained the slightest show of re- 
gard for it only through a third party. Madame Cavaignac, 



228 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

the mother of the General, was the chain which bound him 
to his unwilling allegiance to the Republic. Yet the Provi- 
sional Government of 1848 bestowed on him the grade of 
General of Division, and promoted him to the important and 
distinguished post of Governor-General of Algeria. Chan- 
garnier did not willingly resign his office to the successor ap- 
pointed by the Provisional Government. He rudely dis- 
pensed with the forms which common courtesy and ordinary 
usage required, as being due to a new governor. He even 
insulted Cavaignac by ascribing his promotion to the chief 
authority in Algiers, in a proclamation which he issued on 
his retirement, solely to the regard entertained for the memory 
of his brother. Cavaignac was too politic to resent these 
galling indignities. 

No sooner was he elevated to the administration of Algiers, 
than he began to exhibit his total incapacity for the science 
of government. His first act was to remove from its pedestal 
the statue of the deceased Duke of Orleans, whose amiable 
disposition and whose unfortunate death had left in France a 
sad and sympathetic remembrance. The inhabitants of the 
town of Algiers were indignant at this outrage on the che- 
rished memory of the dead ; and Cavaignac was compelled or 
constrained to restore the statue to its former place. This 
conduct indicated the most pitiable irresolution ; but it was 
soon followed by another act still more absurd and pusillani- 
mous. He was induced to assist at the solemn elevation of 
a red Jacobin bonnet on the summit of a tree of Liberty. This 
republican emblem produced on the Orleanist population of 
Algeria the same effect which a scarecrow would cause upon a 
company of children. Overcome by the public derision, Ca- 
vaignac ordered the symbol of the Republic to be removed. 
This additional act of indecision had its influence upon the 
public mind in Algeria ; and considerably diminished the re- 
spect which the military achievements of the Governor-General 
had formerly obtained for him. 

On the 20th of March the Provisional Government at Paris 



OF NAPOLEON III. 229 

nominated General Cavaignac to the post of Minister of War. 
But he declined the proffered honor. Had he been a sincere 
republican he would not have hesitated to accept it. But he 
had no confidence in the stability of the Provisional Govern- 
ment ; and he feared that, if he resigned his post in Algeria, 
when the republic fell, he would fall with it, and would be 
overwhelmed in its total ruin. The certain and secure pos- 
session of the government of Algeria was a more desirable 
position, than the insecure and probably transient honors 
which clustered around the office of Minister of War for 
France. The Provisional Government were highly offended 
at this refusal of the General. The public at once drew the 
inference that the government of February was tottering on 
its basis, else Cavaignac would have accepted the appoint- 
ment. The Provisional Government expressed their indig- 
nation at his conduct in a bitter and sarcastic letter. After 
the Republic was proclaimed, however, he accepted on the 
Itth of May the same office which he had previously declined 
on the 20th of March. The reason was that the Republic 
seemed to him to be a more permanent and responsible insti- 
tution ; or at least it appeared to be one, a connection with 
which would promote his future advancement to power. 

He was then also appointed commander-in-chief of the 
troops charged with the protection of the National Assem- 
bly. Confusion began to reign in France, that same confu- 
sion which terminated at last by the memorable coup d^etat 
of the 2d of December. An Executive Commission had been 
selected to administer the government, consisting of La- 
raartine, Arago, Ledru Rollin, Marrast, and Gamier Pages. 
This Commission was still too republican in their sentiments 
to please the temper of the National Assembly. Despised 
by the Assembly and hated by the people, the only safety of 
the Commission would have been in their unity; but an insane 
personal ambition overcame every other consideration, and 
divided their forces. Their downfall was inevitable. Gene- 
ral Cavaignac at that moment represented in his own person 
20 



230 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

the opposing power in the State. Affairs were approaching 
a decisive crisis, and soon one or the other of these rivals — 
the Commission or Cavaignac, the civil or the military Dic- 
tatorship must triumph, and absorb all power to itself. 

The destruction of the " National Workshops" was the 
signal for the commencement of the struggle. At this period 
the prospects of Louis Napoleon for the attainment of su- 
preme power had not yet become flattering or even obtrusive. 
His countless agents were then at work secretly throughout 
the provinces, preparing the way for his future success. At 
leugth, the workmen who have been deprived of their sub- 
sistence by the destruction of the public workshops, crowded 
the streets of Paris, and the air resounded with countless yells 
of " work or bread. " The people were utterly dissatisfied with 
the Assembly and with the Executive Commission. A pro- 
position was then made to Cavaignac, the military chief of 
France, by a committee of three, at the head of whom was 
Ducrux, whether he would accept the Dictatorship, on con- 
dition that the Executive Commission should retire. The 
critical moment had at last arrived, and propitious fortune 
by a strange caprice offered to place the supreme power in 
the hands of the soldier of Algiers. Cavaignac accepted the 
Dictatorship. But the Executive Commission were not will- 
ing to be thus bought and sold, and shorn thus summarily of 
their power, by the leaders of popular factions. At two 
o'clock in the morning, Barthelemy de St. Hilaire, in the 
name of the Commission, sent the captain of the National 
Guard to carry an order to General Cavaignac. The order 
was not executed. The Commission during the day demanded 
of the General the reason. Cavaignac, disposed to equivo- 
cate, threw the blame on General Fouche, a person who then 
labored under a species of disgrace. Fouche earnestly de- 
fended himself. Various discussions passed between the 
Commission, Cavaignac and the Assembly, which need not be 
narrated. The result of all these agitations was, that at 
length Pascal Duprat, who was the leader of the Cavaignac 



OF NAPOLEON III. 2ol 

faction in the Assembly, ascended the tribune, and demandt);! 
in loud and violent terms that the Assembly pass a decree to 
the effect that Paris is in a state of siege, and that a dictato- 
rial power be concentrated in the sole hands of General Ca- 
vaignac. Lagrange and other deputies protested against 
such a sacrifice of the liberties of the nation. When the vote 
was taken on the decree, sixty votes were given against it. 
A vast majority of several hundred bewildered, terrified or 
corrupted representatives, decided in favor of it. At half- 
past ten at night Cavaignac became Dictator of France, 
and the Executive Commission existed no more. 

The new Dictator immediately commenced the work of 
subduing the revolt and the insurrection which then raged in 
the streets of Paris, as well as of crushing every other ele- 
ment of resistance. In less than twenty-four hours the Dic- 
tator suppressed eleven newspapers. Two journals alone 
applauded the policy and the severity of Cavaignac. These 
were the "Constitutional" and " The Country ;" but these 
were governed by speculators, and not by publicists ; by 
Delamaire the banker, and by Veron the operator. Ca- 
vaignac gained over the National Guards by a specious pro- 
clamation, in which he spoke of a Republic which had no 
existence except in his own imagination. The revolted 
canaille of Paris were deluded and pacified by a similar 
process, although at one period during the progress of the 
conflict for the supreme power they not unjustly bestowed the 
title of "Butcher" on the bold aspirant for supremacy. 

His subsequent acts during his brief administration were 
singular enough, and confirmed the statement which has 
already been made in this work, that Cavaignac, though a 
brave soldier, did not possess a particle of statesmanship. 
He selected his cabinet from among the Orleanists, including 
such men as Dufrane and Yivien, yet he attempted to flatter 
and conciliate every party. But he succeeded in offending 
all ; and when the period arrived for the election of a President 
of the new Republic, out of seven millions of votes he did 
not obtain more than a million and a half. The Dictator fell 



232 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

to rise no more ; and on his ruins the power and glory of 
Louis Napoleon gradually ascended, until they reached their 
present magnificent proportions. 

General Cavaignac then sank into that obscurity which he 
deserved. Two eventful years rolled away, during which 
Louis Napoleon ably swayed the sceptre of France as her 
President. At length the memorable 2d of December, 1851, 
dawned, and with its earliest light the sudden and mysterious 
terrors of the coup d^etat burst upon the astonivshed capital. 
Then came the arrest of General Cavaignac as already 
described — and afterward his imprisonment at Ham. This 
was a three-fold misfortune to the fallen Dictator ; for it 
destroyed at the same moment his military reputation, his 
political consequence, and those tender domestic hopes on 
which his future happiness depended. During the period of 
his supremacy, the fame of the general had fascinated and 
won the heart of a beautiful young lady, Mademoiselle Odier. 
She was the daughter of James Odier, a distinguished banker, 
and she forgot the age of the general in her admiration of his 
celebrity. When he was arrested he wrote a note to the young 
lady informing her of his situation, and releasing her from the 
obligations of the marriage vow which was to have been 
assumed in a day or two after the occurrence of the coup 
d'etat. 

She answered immediately that she only saw in his misfor- 
tune another and stronger reason why she should fulfil her 
engagement. The first care of James Odier was to demand 
for his wife and daughter permission to visit the general in 
his prison. The Count de Morny, minister of the President, 
acted the part of a trifler in this affair, and at length granted 
the desired permission in such a manner as almost to render 
it an Insult. He allowed the commandant of the fortress to 
permit an hour's interview in the presence of a guard. Mr. 
Odier thanked De Morny by letter for even this courtesy, and 
requested that the general might be permitted to write to his 
fiancee, and speak to her without the presence of a witness. 

A singular correspondence between De Morny, M. Odier, 



or NAPOLEON III. 233 

and Cavaignac then ensued. De Morny wrote to M. Odier 
to the effect that Louis jN'apoleon did not confound General 
Cavaignac with the desperate conspirators who meditated the 
overthrow of his power ; and that it would grieve the Presi- 
dent to see the joy, of the marriage damped by the chilly walls 
of a prison. The letter enclosed an order to the commandant 
of the fortress to release the captive general. This circum- 
stance called forth a reply from General Cavaignac, in which 
he declared to De Morny that he was entitled to his liberty 
without any act of grace from the President, and he should 
accept it as a right, and not as a gift. He added, that by 
using the order for his discharge, and by accepting his release, 
he expressly refrained from acknowledging the legitimacy of 
the power which had, for a short period, deprived him of his 
freedom. De Morny responded in an artful epistle, in which 
he said that he should abstain from making any response to 
the positions assumed by the general in his previous letter, 
and merely confined himself to congratulating the general 
upon the felicity of his approaching nuptials. 

General Cavaignac was united in marriage to Mdlle. 
Odier on the 1st of January, 1852. Then terminated the 
political and military importance of the former Dictator of 
France. He never afterward emerged from the tranquil ob- 
scurity in which the overwhelming success of Louis Napoleon 
enveloped him. He expired suddenly, on the 29th of Octo- 
ber, 185T, while engaged in the diversion of shooting on one 
of the country estates of his wife. His corpse was conveyed 
to Paris, where the funeral obsequies took place. He was 
buried with the usual military honors, and most of the illus- 
trious and the great who resided or were present in the capi- 
tal, honored the last solemn journey of the hero of Algiers 
to the grave with their presence and their sympathy. The 
Court and the Emperor were represented ; but only to such 
an extent as to imply that they tolerated, though they scarcely 
approved, the demonstration which was made in favor of the 
defunct Dictator. 
20* 



234 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



CHAPTER XYI. 

Louis Napoleon's reputation for Gallantry — Was always regarded in 
England as a bad matrimonial match — He is rejected by Miss Belleu 
— He afterward rejects Her — The Princess Mathilde — Louis Napo- 
leon's intrigue with Mademoiselle Lautre — His connection with the 
Countess de Castiglione — Despair of the Empress — The Opera of 
Joconde — The Count de Morny — The Prince Walewski — Influence of 
Louis Napoleon's reign on French Society — The contrast between its 
Influence and that of Charles X. and Louis Philippe. 

The unenviable reputation for excessive gallantry which 
Louis Napoleon has acquired, may have had its origin to 
some extent in the well-known character of his mother, 
Queen Hortense. This lady is said to have spent her whole 
life in a series of liaisons; but especially during her resi- 
dence in the Castle of Arenemberg. It is asserted that her 
conduct allured around her many of the noblemen most dis- 
tinguished for gallantry at that time in France. In the 
small Court of Arenemberg, Louis Napoleon, in spite of his 
great professions of regard and esteem for his mother, must 
have seen ample evidence of the laxity of her morals, and the 
unscrupulous violence of her passions. 

During his boyhood Louis Napoleon gave no evidence of 
the existence of those strong propensities within him, which 
have characterized his riper years. He was then remarkable 
for the gentleness of his disposition, and for the timidity and 
sweetness of his temper. His fair flowing curls and soft blue 
eyes seemed more characteristic of girlhood; so that even 
the ladies of the imperial court, his mother, and the Empress 
Josephine, used to term him la Princesse Louis, instead of 
le Prince Louis. His most general appellation when a boy, 
was le Prince oui-oui, from the gentle obedience and sub- 



OP NAPOLEON III, 235 

mission, with whicli he uniformly complied with the wishes 
of others. 

During the first residence of Louis Napoleon in England, 
several incidents occurred in reference to the gentler sex, 
which deserve to be narrated, as indicative of the vicissitudes 
which attend the progress of human life. Although the 
Prince was received by the highest English aristocracy as 
the representative and heir of the great Napoleon, he was re- 
garded as a very bad match ; and not one of the distinguished 
noblemen who entertained him, — the Duke of Buccleugh, the 
Duke of Hamilton, or the Duke of Devonshire, — would have 
given him their daughter in marriage. No one at that time 
entertained the remotest suspicion that the imperial diadem 
would ever encircle that pale and diminutive brow. There 
are doubtless at this very moment many of the fairest 
and proudest peeresses of England, who secretly sigh to 
think that there was a time, when they might easily have 
courted and won the hand which could now conduct them to 
the splendid elevation of a throne ! 

Though the British aristocracy repelled the matrimonial 
advances of Louis Napoleon, and he possessed too much good 
sense to press or obtrude them, there was one lady — not 
however the daughter of a nobleman — who, at the time of 
the Prince's residence in England, was young, beautiful, and 
had just fallen heir to an estate of five thousand pounds a 
year. This lady was Miss Belleu. Immediately after the 
receipt of her fortune she repaired to London from Devon- 
shire, entered its gay society, and was soon surrounded by 
a host of admirers. Many younger sons of dukes and earls 
sued for the posession of her hand and fortune ; and among 
her other admirers was Prince Louis. He was greatly 
smitten with her buxom beautv, and one evening, after dancino; 
with her in various waltzes and polkas, which were just then 
becoming fashionable, he offered her his heart and hand. Miss 
Belleu at once refused the future Emperor. Yet when, in the 
year 1848, the star of Louis Napoleon began to glimmer in 



236 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

the political horizon, and he had been chosen representative, 
and afterward President, Miss Belleu, still unmarried, and 
still fascinating and beautiful, hastened to Paris, and showed 
herself obtrusively at the receptions of the Elysee Palace. 
But at that time the Prince Napoleon winked prodigiously 
hard, and would not see or remember the former object of his 
idolatry. 

At the Chateau of Ham there are said to be two children 
who possess the ri.srht to call the Emperor of the French their 
father. Their mother was the daughter of the keeper of the 
prison ; and ample provision has been made for them by 
their august progenitor. The same liberality has marked the 
conduct of the Emperor to Mrs. Howard, whose partiality 
and assistance were so opportune during the dreary years of 
his exile. This lady received from her former lover an am- 
ple fortune, as an acquittance in full of all obligations, at the 
time of the imperial marriage. She has since become the 
wife of a young Englishman, with whom she lives in ease and 
luxury on the fruits of the imperial generosity. 

While Louis Napoleon was still unmarried, he installed 
his cousin, the Princess Mathilde, as the mistress of the pre- 
sidential and imperial palace, deputing to her the task of 
doing its honors. This lady is the daughter of ex-King 
Joseph Bonaparte, who once resided at Bordentown as the 
Count de Survilliers. She was educated in Florence, and 
there married at an early age the Prince Deraidoff. This 
marriage was an unhappy one, and it ended at last in an 
amicable separation. The Princess is a lady of remarkable 
elegance and refinement, as well as beauty. Her grace, her 
tact, and her extraordinary conversational powers, imparted to 
the dinners, and to the intimate receptions at the Elysee, a 
peculiar and unrivalled charm. Her taste in dress directed 
the fashions. Her love of music and the fine arts elevated the 
Court. Louis Napoleon shared the admiration of the public 
for his fair cousin ; and scandal even magnified his partiality 
and affection for her into a grosser .passion. Yet of the truth 



yjiacrt JAIUJi MBW*#MIB^1 




GOOi^TESi) Ci\STOELiei^E 



OF NAPOLEON III. 237 

of this charge there is no proof; nor could there well be, iii 
the nature of the case. 

Since the marriage of the Emperor he has been attracted 
by the potent charms of at least two women, who have suc- 
ceeded in leading him into lamentable lapses from conjugal 
fidelity. The first of these was Madamoiselle Lautre, a 
young prima donna of the Grand Opera of Paris. This lady 
was very beautiful, and very talented ; and she so directed the 
expressive glances of her dark voluptuous eyes towards the 
imperial box, as to succeed in planting a love-daTt in the 
bosom of its chief occupant. Her salary was immediately 
doubled ; and when the fascinating cantatrice complained to 
her imperial lover in a moment of tenderness that the Opera 
House was very badly arranged to display the peculiar merits 
of her voice, he instantly replied : '* Set fire to it, and I will 
build you another." But the fair artist was deficient, not in 
beauty nor in passion, but in discretion ; and the liaison did 
not very long continue. 

The second inamorata of the Emperor since his marriage 
was the noble and beautiful Countess de Castiglione. This 
lady was a native of Milan in Lombardy, and she belonged to 
one of those ancient and distinguished Lombard families, a 
portion of whom reside in Piedmont. Both at Turin and 
at Milan the ladies of the Castiglione family have long been 
renowned for their great beauty. Madame Castiglione had 
a good-natured husband, with whom she lived apparently on 
the best possible terms. She was not only a beautiful woman, 
but was also highly intellectual, accomplished, and refined. 
She never assumed the airs of a mistress, or the authority of 
a favorite, during the period of her connection with the Em- 
peror. Her high birth and breeding prevented any such dis- 
play of vulgarity ; but certain it is that, for a time, the spell 
which she cast upon the imperial mind and fancy was power- 
ful in the extreme. The gentle Eugenie strove in vain to 
conjure against the fascinating Italian magician. Time at 
length accomplished for the Empress what her own charms 



238 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

had failed to do ; and an incident occurred on the 30th of 
April, 1857, which showed publicly that the reign of the 
haughty daughter of Italy, for some mysterious and unknown 
reason, had terminated. The Emperor and Empress were 
present at the revival of a well-known and admired opera, 
written by Etienne and Nicolo, called Joconde. A popular 
romance closes with these words : 

" On devient infidble 
On court de belle en belle, 
Mais on revient tonjours, 
A ses premiers amours. 

ENGLISH VERSION. 

"Oft we turn from fair to fair, 

Faithless as the summer air, 

But wherever we may rove, 

Still we turn to our first love." 

When this couplet was recited Louis Napoleon looked 
significantly at the Empress, and nodded his head so decidedly, 
that the audience at once remarked and applauded the act. 
Eugenie blushed profusely, yet smiled sweetly in token of her 
joy. The very next day the fair and proud Countess de Cas- 
tiglione started, with her complacent husband, for Lombardy. 

It is barely possible that the criminality of this connection 
rests only in the suspicions of the perverse public. It is pos- 
sible that the intelligence and wit of the Countess, rather than 
her beauty, attracted her imperial admirer. Louis Napoleon 
is almost constantly engaged in the laborious duties of his 
high office, and even his intercourse with the Empress must, 
to a great extent, be characterized by a political tinge ; their 
conversation must have frequent and constant reference to the 
onerous labors and responsibilities which rest upon him. It 
would therefore be a great relief to his care-tired thoughts to 
relax his mind in the gay and entertaining society of such a 
woman as the Countess, to whom politics and ambitious pro- 
jects, dark conspiracies and formidable combinations were 



OF NAPOLEON III. 289 

total strangers. Such indeed may have been the nature of 
her association with the hero of the coup d^etat, in spite of 
all the uncharitable and malicious suppositions of the world. 
Louis Napoleon is surrounded by living monuments of the 
incontinence of his illustrious race ; for one of his chief 
favorites is the Count de Morny, who is an illegitimate son 
of Hortense. Another is Prince Walewski, the fruit of an 
amour of the gi^at Napoleon with a beautiful Polish lady, 
the Countess Walewski, whom the conqueror met at the period 
of the battle of Eylau. Count de Morny was the French 
ambassador to the Court of St. Petersburg. Prince Walew- 
ski was the President' of the famous Peace Congress of Paris, 
which terminated the war in the Crimea. These two noble- 
men, together with the Prince Napoleon, who strikingly 
resembles the great Napoleon in his person and in his features, 
constitute the chief favorites of the Imperial family ; and they 
now share, in an eminent degree, the splendor, felicity, and 
power which are possessed by thejr remarkable and illustrious 
relative. 

The reign of Louis Napoleon, in its influence upon French 
society, and in its relation to the French people, differs in its 
essential features from all its predecessors. The restored 
Bourbons of the elder branch, terminating with Charles X., 
established as far as they could a rigid and severe prudery ; 
they fostered and proinoteS the spirit of courtly chivalry, 
which had flourished with genial pride and splendor, in the 
palmy days of the ancient monarchy ; but which was indeed 
little consonant with the matter-of-fact genius of the present 
age. This policy on the part of the government compelled 
the frail and licentious to conceal their intrigues, and to 
simulate the possession of a virtue of which in reality they 
were destitute. The intrigues of the courtiers were as 
numerous as ever, but they were concealed, and elevated to 
some extent, by the instincts of the heart which generally 
dictated them. 

Louis Philippe, the head of the Orleans dynasty, or younger 



I 
240 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

•i 

Bourbon branch, was the king and favorite of the Bourgeoisie] 
and he set the example in his own family of the virtues 
which, in all civilized coulitries, are the distinctive character- 
istics of the middle classes. Family affection and domestic 
felicity, dnring his reifn, and under the benign sanction of 
his exemplary 'Wife and daughters, became more generally 
prevalent in the middle classes of France, than at any other 
period of her history. 

The Napoleonic dynasty has always loved extreme magnifi- 
cence and luxury * and Louis Napoleon, at the head of the 
second empire, is true to the traditions of his race. Napo- 
leon I. exhibited his Italian descent by many indications ; 
among thife rest, even by his love of embroideries, finery, and 
every thing which glittered and flashed. He also strove to 
appeal to the French people through the influence of their 
imaginations. Hence, glory was the great aim and charac- 
teristic of his reign. Napoleon III. lives and toils for the 
same supreme results, but with this difference, that while the 
glory of the first empire was chiefly military, the glory of 
the second is chiefly civil. But glory of no description can 
be secured or supported without vast pecuniary resources. 
These resources the first Napoleon obtained by his military 
conquests ; the second empire flourishes in equal splendor by 
means of the wealth which is won by speculation. The 
money-changers and the speculators now have their halcyon 
days in France, and bask in the golden felicities of an age 
and of a reign eminently propitious to their interests. Hence 
the passion for speculation has reached an extent and a degree 
which never before existed in France ; and it may at last 
prove the fatal rock on which the government and empire of 
Louis Napoleon will split, after having successfully resisted 
every other foe, and happily escaped every other peril. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 241 



CHAPTER XYII. 

The visit of Napoleon III. and Eugenie to England in 1855— The jour- 
ney of Queen Victoria to Paris — The Inundations in France in 1856 — 
Louis Napoleon's great Administrative Talent — The pacific Splendors 
of the Empire — Visit of the Grand Duke Constantine of Russia to 
Paris — Review of Troops in the Capital in 1857 — The magnificent 
Covp d'CEil — Louis Napoleon's Elat Major — Private Amusements of 
the French Court — Political apathy in France — Causes of that 
Apathy — The "Council of Regency" — The elections throughout 
France in June, 1857 — Attempted Assassinations. 

The alliance between England and France having termi- 
nated so gloriously for the arms and the diplomacy of both 
countries, other acts of national amity ensued between them. 
In 1855 the French Emperor and Empress visited the British 
sovereign in her own dominions ; the first instance probably 
in the history of the world in which a reigning French 
monarch set foot upon the soil of his hereditary foes. The 
rejoicings on this occasion were prodigious ; and the man 
who once paced the streets of London pennile-ss, and de- 
pendent on the amorous generosity of a woman of question- 
able virtue, was received in the same capital with universal 
greetings, with flying banners, with military salutes, with the 
congratulations of the sovereign and nobility, and with the 
joyful acclamations of millions. In a short time, Yictoria 
and Albert returned the compliment, and the scene was 
changed from London to Paris. On that memorable occa- 
sion the gay and brilliant capital of France assumed un- 
wonted hues of splendor, and exhibited scenes of festivity 
and rejoicing which had never before been equalled. Tlie 
great centre of the world's civilization and luxury exhausted 
21 Q 



242 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

her varied and infinite resources to impress, delight, and charm 
the august visitors. 

The extraordinary inundations which deluged a portion of 
the French territory in 1856, called forth a degree of chival- 
rous and charitable daring on the part of the Emperor, which 
won for him fresh laurels among his subjects. As soon as 
the ravages of the swift and swollen Rhone were reported at 
Paris, the Emperor started for Lyons. It was at midnight. 
He arrived at that desolate city almost unattended, and in- 
stantly gave such orders as were adapted to afford relief. 
He passed fearlessly between crumbling houses and through 
dangerous currents. All Lyons resounded with his applause. 
From that city he proceeded to Provence. He penetrated 
to the very centre of the city of Avignon, in a small boat. 
He thence advanced to Aries over a vast inundated plain, 
frequently sailing in a frail nut-shell, over the tops of houses 
and trees. The same scenes were repeated at Orleans, at 
Blois, and at Tours. Everywhere the Emperor displayed 
great intrepidity in affording relief of all kinds to the 
myriads who had been ruined by the overwhelming floods. 

Since his attainment of supreme power, Louis Napoleon 
has exhibited administrative talent of the first order. France 
is governed with the regularity and system of a gigantic piece 
of mechanism. Never before, even in the palmiest days of 
the great Napoleon, did more vigor, energy, and harmony per- 
vade the administration ; while in addition to this, the country 
is saved from the immense expense of blood and treasure 
which the insatiable ambition of that restless hero constantly 
entailed upon it. Recent improvements have been introduced 
into everything which the resources or the activity of the 
sovereign could possibly reach. The gay capital of the 
empire has been the special object of his care; and Paris 
seems almost to have thrown off the dingy and faded habili- 
ments of past ages which still clung to her, and to have 
assumed the freshness, the beauty, and the energy of youth. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 243 

All the public monuments of architectural skill, the palaces, 
the temples, and the chief streets have, by his orders, been 
embellished, enlarged, repaired and renovated. Much as 
Paris owed to the Bourbons, to Napoleon I., and to the Or- 
leans dynasty, she owes perhaps still more to Louis Napoleon. 
Under his administration all the pacific splendors of the 
former empire have been restored. He has neglected no 
means of impressing upon the world, and upon his own sub- 
jects, the greatness of his power, and the security with which 
he sits upon his throne. All the appointments of his court 
are on the highest scale of magnificence. Those public 
reviews, by which the strength and majesty of his army are 
exhibited, are imposing in the extreme, and he embraces every 
opportunity to display them. One of these occasions was 
the visit paid by the Russian Grand Duke Constantine, to 
Paris, in May, 1857. The day was observed as a general 
festival in the capital. The review was appointed to com- 
mence at two o'clock in the afternoon, but for hours before 
the arrival of that period every avenue leading to the vast 
area of the Champs de Mars was crowded with endless 
masses of troops of all arms, and of every imaginable style 
of uniform, who were marching with stately tread and martial 
music to the grand rendezvous. As the hour approached for 
the review to commence, the scene presented was magnificent 
in the extreme. As far as the eye could reach, along both 
banks of the Seine, and through the immense perspective of 
the adjacent Boulevards, the glittering arms of cavalry and 
infantry flashed brightly in the rays of the refulgent sun ; 
while the various strains of the multitudinous bands of music, 
and the loud sounding words of command from oflBcers riding 
to and fro, came floating to the ear on the grateful and 
gentle breeze. For a long time after reaching the plain, the 
movements of the various bodies continued, advancing, re- 
ceding, wheeling, and at last taking their positions in the line. 
As the hour of two was tolled from the lofty towers of the 



244 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Tnvalides, seventy thousand men stood motionless in military 
array, and disposed so as to produce the most sublime and 
Impressive effect, awaiting the approach of that single person 
who had so heroically grasped and secured the sceptre of 
dominion in France. That moment of expectancy presented 
to the eye of the observer a scene of martial splendor equal 
to any ever witnessed by mortal eye. The military pageant 
was not the only element of splendor there. The place itself 
surpassed in magnificence any other spot on earth. The more 
prominent objects which met the eye were of matchless 
grandeur. The noble fagade of the Ecole Militaire, the 
splendid dome of the Hotel des Invalides, the towering mass 
of the Arc-de-Triomphe, and a hundred other monuments of 
architectural beauty, as well as of historic celebrity, suggest- 
ing to the mind of the observer those memorable scenes of 
glory and felicity, as well as of misery and blood, through 
which France and her children had passed in former years ; — 
all these were then within view, and combined with the 
jnajesty of military power which was assembled in their centre 
to form a coup d^oeil such as no other locality in the world 
could present. 

At length the graceful waving of white and red plumes, 
and the glittering of polished silver helmets on the Pont de 
Jena, the roll of a thousand drums and the music of a thou- 
sand trumpets, indicated the approach of Louis Napoleon 
and his illustrious guest. Surrounded by his magnificent 
Utat Major, composed of the chief ofiBcers of all the regiments, 
including many men of distinction, the Emperor rode with 
military precision into the centre of the gorgeous array. The 
Champs de Mars, familiar as it had been with the glories of 
the first empire, had never seen the conqueror of a hundred 
battle-fields surrounded with a halo of greater martial 
grandeur than that which then encompassed the man who had 
never seen a solitary conflict of arms, or had commanded a 
single battalion in the field. On the right of the Emperor 



OP NAPOLEON III. 245 

rode the Grand Duke Constantine, dressed in the costume of 
a Russian Admiral. At the side of these resp.ectively, rode 
the Prince Napoleon and the Duke of Nassau. A crowd of 
illustrious commanders followed in the rear, including Marshals 
Bosquet, Canrobert, and Pelissier, together with three Russian 
generals of celebrity, Totleben, Luders, and Liprandi. Behind 
these came the sumptuous carriage of the Empress Eugenie, 
who was arrayed in the most gorgeous and elegant toilette, 
and seemed the very picture of loveliness and beauty. Three 
times the splendid cortege passed through the field ; after 
which the Emperor, the Grand Duke, and the Empress took 
up their position under the central pavilion of the Military 
School ; and then the defile began. During three hours 
seventy thousand men, composed of seventy-four battalions 
of foot, sixty squadrons of cavalry, and a hundred and fifty 
pieces of artillery, marched by, to the inspiring notes of 
martial melody ; all arrayed in new uniforms, with untarnished 
arms and accoutrements, and beneath a bright and propitious 
sky. Many of the regiments bore immortal names upon their 
colors, which must have forcibly reminded the Grand Duke 
Constantine of those far-famed and bloody struggles in which 
the colossal power of the first empire strove with desperate 
energy and effort to crush forever the throne of the Musco- 
vite kings. Nevertheless the Grand Duke looked on com- 
placently, and uttered nothing but polite phrases of commen- 
dation and praise. 

Such are some of the pageantries with which Louis Napo- 
leon regales and impresses the inhabitants of his capital. 
Within the precincts of his palace, and within the limits of 
his private domains, other scenes of a less imposing but 
equally diverting nature occur. The incidents which took 
place during the visit of the Russian Grand Duke to Paris, 
just alluded to, furnish an illustration of what royalty is in 
dishabille. Their majesties, the Emperor and Empress, and 
their guests, laying aside all ceremony and etiquette, took 
21* 



246 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

part in such amusements as seem more appropriate to chil- 
dren on a holiday than to high and mighty potentates. They 
were entertained in the imperial park with a performance of 
learned dogs and monkeys, brought from the cirque Napo- 
leon. After this exhibition was ended, the ladies of the com- 
pany took possession of a steep and mossy mound, and un- 
dertook to defend it as a fortre-ss against the attacks of the 
gentlemen ; the Empress acting as commander-in-chief of the 
fair Amazons. 

One of the most singular peculiarities of France under the 
second empire, is the complete and almost universal apathy 
which is exhibited by the people in general in the affairs of 
the government, and in the details of the administration. 
That restless spirit which has so often thrown the whole 
French nation into a frenzy, seems to have expired ; and they 
appear to have delivered themselves over, body and soul, to 
the control and the supremacy of the chief of the State. 
The cause of this peculiar phenomenon is twofold: — the 
first is a conviction of the uselessness and futility of resistance 
and agitation at the present time. The agents of the impe- 
rial government are known to be so numerous, so active, and 
so determined, and the spirit which actuates Louis Napoleon 
is so dogmatical and exclusive, that any attempt on the part 
of the people to influence the course of the administration is 
readily believed to be futile. The Emperor constantly speaks 
of the freedom of the polls ; he declares that it shall not be in- 
vaded ; while at the same moment he proclaims a threat that 
whoever attempts to disturb the order and security of the 
government shall be severely punished : which means that 
those who do not on all occasions vote for the candidates 
whom the government specifies and approves, shall be severely 
punished. Under these circumstances, the boasted freedom 
of the elections is but an idle name, an absurd farce. 

The second reason of this strange apathy is the confidence 
which the great majority of the French nation actually feel in 



OF NAPOLEON III. 247 

the sagacity and security of the imperial government ; and a 
desire to enjoy a continuance of the favorable results which 
the policy and labors of Louis Napoleon have already ob- 
tained for France. It is undoubtedly true that, in regard to 
physical advantages, such as commerce, agriculture, arts, 
sciences, and education, France was never more prosperous 
and flourishing than she has been under the second empire ; 
and it is natural that the French people should desire a per- 
manence of this fortunate state of affairs. It is true that 
the ancient parties which are hostile to the Emperor still 
exist. The Legitimists, the Orleans party, and the Red Re- 
publicans, are not yet extinct. But it is very evident that 
their influence is insignificant, either separately or com- 
bined, when compared with the overwhelming power of the 
partisans, the patrons, and the employees of the imperial 
government. 

In June, 1857, the general election for members of the 
Corps Legislatif took place throughout France. The result 
of the contest clearly demonstrated that the power of the fac- 
tions hostile to the government was broken. The whole of 
France returned but half a dozen deputies who were repre- 
sentatives of the Opposition. The most important of these 
was General Cavaignac ; but his subsequent premature death 
relieved the government of any disagreeable or dangerous re- 
sults which might have followed his appearance in the national 
legislature. 

In September, 1857, a preconcerted and formal interview 
took place between the French Emperor and the Russian 
monarch, the youthful Alexander II., at Stuttgart. The 
Empress of Russia and the Queen of Greece were also present. 
The King of Prussia had been invited ; but for some import- 
ant reasons of state he declined. The conferences continued 
during four days at the palace of the King of Wurtemberg. 
Measures of importance, as affecting the future peace of 
Europe and the relations of the high powers represented, were 



248 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

discussed. One of these is understood to have been the set- 
tlement of the limits within which Russia and Great Britain 
shall be permitted in future to extend their conquests in the 
East. Thus the once penniless London vagabond sways the 
sceptre of his empire, with potent influence, not merely in 
Europe and in Africa, but even over the illimitable domains 
of Oriental climes and countries. 

It has been the unfortunate fate of Louis Napoleon to have 
been frequently subjected to the perils of attempted assassi- 
nation. These attempts have all been singularly unsuccessful ; 
and their failure has led the credulous and the superstitious 
to believe that he possesses a charmed life. One of the most 
important of these attempts occurred in January, 1858. As 
the carriage of the Emperor approached the Italian Opera 
House three hollow projectiles were aimed at his person, and 
burst beneath his feet. Many persons were wounded, and some 
w^ere killed among those w^ho surrounded the imperial car- 
riage ; but both Napoleon and the Empress escaped unhurt. 
The chief conspirators were Italian refugees, some of whom 
suffered the richly-merited penalty of death for their sangui- 
nary but unsuccessful purpose. In this abortive attempt 
upon the lives of the Emperor and Empress the names of 
Orsini and Pierri occupy an unenviable pre-eminence in 
ferocity and guilt. 

The hopes of the Emperor and the policy of his adminis- 
tration were duly set forth in his Addre:s to the French 
Legislature, delivered on the 18th of January, 1858. He 
concluded this Address with the following appropriate and 
significant language : 

" I have not accepted the honors of the nation with the 
aim of acquiring an ephemeral popularity, but in hope of 
deserving the approbation of posterity as the founder of 
established order. And I declare to you to-day, notwith- 
standing all that has been said on the contrary, that the 
future perils of your country will not arise from the excessive 



OF NAPOLEON III. 249 

prerogatives of the throne, but from the absence of repressive 
laws. Thus the last elections, despite their satisfactory re- 
sults, offered in some districts a sad spectacle. Hostile par- 
ties availed themselves of that opportunity to create disturb- 
ances ; and some men even avowed themselves as the enemies 
of our national institutions, deceived the electors by false 
promises, and after gaining; their suffrages, rejected them 
with disdain. You will never allow such a scandal to occar 
again ; and you will hereafter compel all the eligible to take 
the oath to the Constitution before presenting themselves as 
candidates for office. 

"The tranquilizing of the public mind has been the aim 
of our constant efforts, and you will aid me in seeking means 
for reducing the factious opposition to silence. Is it not 
painful to witness in a country peaceful and prosperous at 
home, and respected abroad, one party decrying the govern- 
ment to which it is indebted for the security it enjoys, while 
another exerts its political liberty to undermine the existing 
institutions ? 

"I offer a hearty welcome to all those who recognize the 
national will, and I do not inquire into their antecedents. 
As for those who have originated disturbances, and or- 
ganized the conspiracies, let them know that their time has 
gone by ! 

"I cannot close without mentioning that criminal attempt 
which has been recently made. I thank Heaven for the 
visible protection which it has granted to the Empress and 
myself; and I deeply deplore that a plan for destroying one 
life, should have ended in the loss of so many. Yet this 
thwarted scheme can teach us some useful lessons. The re- 
course to such desperate means is but a proof of the feeble- 
ness and impotence of the conspirators. And again, there 
never was an assassination which served the interests of the 
men who armed the murderer. Neither the party that struck 
Caesar, nor that which slew Henry lY., profited by their 
overthrow. God sometimes permits the death of the just 



250 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

but he never allows the triumph of the evil agent. Thus 
these attempts neither disturb my security in the present, nor 
my trust in the future. If I live, the Empire lives with me ; 
if I fall, the Empire will be strengthened by my death, for 
the indignation of the people and of the army will be a new 
support for the throne of my son. 

" Let us face the future with confidence, and calmly devote 
ourselves to the welfare and to the honor of our country. 
Dieu protege la France I ' ' 



PART SECOND. 



NAPOLEONIC MISCELLANY. 

No inconsiderable portion of the interest of the history of 
Napoleon III. consists in the works which he published, in 
the private letters which he wrote, and in the official addresses 
which he delivered, during the progress of his career. In 
order to render the present work more complete, the writer 
has resolved to introduce into it a selection from the more im- 
portant of these productions ; but instead of interrupting the 
narrative by their insertion at different points and periods of 
it, they are placed together in a body in the following 
pages. 

No. L 

Louis Napoleon's Views of the English Revolution; from his "■His- 
torical Fragments." 

The English wanted the same things all through this 
period of their history, and did not rest until they had ob- 
tained the object of their wishes. From the sixteenth century 
the English tried to get, 

Firstly — and above all things — the establishment of their 
reformed religion, which comprehended all national interests. 

Secondly — the preponderance of their navy, and conse- 
quently an increased influence on the continent. 

Thirdly — the full use of their freedom. 

Elizabeth confirmed the triumph of the cause of Protest- 
antism, she added to the national glory, and her memory was 
revered. 

(2oi) 



252 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

The republic and the Protector concealed their despotic 
and selfish views under the name of national dignity. They 
passed away. 

The Stuarts went counter to the three great wishes of the 
majority of England. They fell. 

William III. alone confirmed at once the religion, the 
glory, atid the liberties of his country. He consolidated his 
work. 

It is not, then, chance which rules the fate of nations ; it 
is not an unforeseen circumstance which overthrows or sup- 
ports thrones : there is a general cause which regulates events, 
and which makes them really dependent on each other. 

A government may often violate the laivs, and even 
liberty, with impunity ; but unless it truly puts itself at the 
head of the great interests of civilization, it can only have a 
transient existence ; and the plain, philosophical reason, 
which is the cause of its death, is called fatality, when it is 
wished to avoid the true reason. 

England required nearly a century of struggles between 
society and the evil passions of those in power, and vice versa, 
before she could ever erect that immense English structure 
which we have hated, which we have tried to overthrow, but 
which we cannot but admire. 

The revolution of 1688 has procured for England one 
hundred and fifty-three years of prosperity, grandeur, and 
liberty. 

Will the revolution of July bestow the same blessings on 
France ? The future must settle this question. 

Without wishing to pry into the mysteries of Providence, 
let us content ourselves with examining the causes and effects 
of these great political dramas, and seek in the history of the 
past some consolation for our ills, some hope for our country. 

England, tired of civil wars, disabused of the sacredness 
of parties and the excellence of the regal power, preserved 
but one object of hatred, one of love, as the result of her 
struggles — hatred of Popery and love of power. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 253 

In recording the principal facts of the revolution in Eng- 
land, one naturally feels a reluctance, as a Catholic, to treat 
those men with contempt who supported that religion in 
Great Britain ; but, on a close investigation, we see the 
justice of disliking those who, by their blind zeal and rash- 
ness, compromised and rendered the true doctrine of Christ 
unpopular in England, by making it a handle for a party, and 
the instrument of their passions. Their conduct should be 
branded ; for never had the Catholic religion found so genial 
a soil as that of England, to rule by the purity of its princi- 
ples and its moral influence. Persecuted by the royal power, 
it followed the example of the aristocracy, and to avenge its 
wrongs put itself at the head of the national liberties. This 
was an admirable position for action, for it was independent 
of the temporal power, only acknowledging as chief the Chief 
of the universal church, while the Anglicans then only derived 
their rights and privileges from the will and power of the 
head of the government. But the Catholic clergy, dazzled 
by worldly interests, lost themselves by joining the oppressors 
of the people instead of joining the oppressed. Every en- 
lightened mind was so well convinced that the Stuarts were 
about to ruin the cause of religion, that Pope Innocent IX, 
loudly expressed his displeasure at the imprudent conduct 
of James II., and the cardinals of Rome said, jestingly, that 
" James II. ought to be excommanicated, as a man who was 
about to destroy the remnant of Catholicism that was left in 
England." 

The Prince of Orange did not abuse his triumph on the 
first feeling of enthusiasm which the people entertained for 
their deliverer. William did not come to take a crown by 
assault ; he came to consolidate the destinies of England ; he 
had destroyed the principle of hereditary succession, a prin- 
ciple hitherto regarded as inviolable and sacred ; and he could 
only combat it by another principle, that of the sovereignty 
of the people. An acquired and acknowledged right can 
only be done away by giving in its stead another right, 
22 



254 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

legally acquired and acknowledged. Counsellors were not 
wanting who advised Mm to take possession of the govern- 
ment by right of conquest, as William the Conqueror had 
done, forgetting that six hundred years of civilization had 
added more to the strength of the national right than to that 
of the sword. Others also urged him to seize the crown, 
representing the dangers of anarchy, that convenient phantom 
which always serves as an excuse to tyranny. 

William remained firm ; he would not be an usurper. 

His conduct was reserved and dignified ; he had remained 
unmoved amidst the passions which raged around him, and 
had not entered into any intrigues either with the electors or 
members of Parliament. He was frequently blamed for his 
cold and distant manner to those whose interest he required; 
but William's great mind disdained popularity acquired by 
meanness. This was indeed a sublime proof that he was 
not dazzled by the splendor of a crown, but that he was 
desirous of fulfilling his mission, and of rendering his cause 
triumphant. 

What means shall he employ to surmount them ? One 
only, and it will succeed. It is to remain faithful to the 
cause of the revolution which had summoned him, and to 
render it triumphant at home by its justice, and formidable 
abroad by its boldness. 

Though there was a party opposed to the new state of 
things, which was called the republican or revolutionary 
party, they kept quiet, which proved that if they did not 
make common cause with William, they still thought that 
he guaranteed the general interests against the common 
enemy. There were also some of those fanatics who place 
the destinies of their country on the point of the dagger, who 
attempted the king's life ; but they were sent back with con- 
tempt to the ordinary tribunals, under the idea that giving 
too much publicity to an attempt at assassination was en- 
couraging others. 

The Stuarts never sought by the application of any great 



OF NAPOLEON III. 255 

principle, whether they could assure the prosperity and inde- 
pendence of their country, but by what little expedients, by 
what hidden intrigues, they could support their always troubled 
power. 

They desired to re-establish Catholicity : they annihilated 
it for centuries in England. They wished to elevate royalty : 
they only compromised it. They wished to assure order, and 
they brought confusion on confusion. It is a true saying, 
then, that 

The greatest enemy to religion is the man who would 
impose it; the greatest foe to royalty is he who degrades it ; 
the greatest enemy to the repose of his country is he who 
renders a revolution necessary. 

Let us now consider what would have been the consequen- 
ces, if the prince, after having dethroned James II., and 
violated the hereditary principle, had accepted the throne 
from James II. 's last Parliament, and instead of convoking 
a National Assembly — the free expression of the popular 
will — had held his authority from a bastard Assembly, who 
would not have any right to present him with it. 

William III. satisfied the exigencies of his reign, and re- 
established public order ; but had he followed the Stuart 
policy he would have destroyed it, and the enemies of the 
English nation, on again witnessing a desire for change, 
would have accused the people of inconsistency and frivolity, 
instead of accusing the government of blindness and perfidy. 
It would have been asserted that England was an ungovern- 
able nation. 

The history of England calls loudly to monarchs, March 
at the head of the ideas of your age, and then these 
ideas will follow and support you. 

If you march behind them, they will drag you on. 

And if you march against them, they will certainly 

PROVE YOUR downfall. 



256 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

No. TI. 

Louis Napoleon's Letter respeciing Ms Father, to the Minister of 

the Interior. 

Fortress of Ham, Dec. 25, 1845. 

Sir : My father, whose age and infirmities require the at- 
tention of a son, has asked the government to allow me to 
join him. 

His application has not been attended with a favorable 
result. 

The government, I am told, requires a formal guarantee 
from me. In such circumstances my determination cannot 
be doubtful. I am ready to do every thing compatible with 
my honor, in order to offer to my father those consolations to 
which he has so many claims. 

I now, therefore, declare to you, sir, that if the French 
government consent to allow me to go to Florence, to dis- 
charge a sacred duty, I promise, upon my honor, to return 
and to place myself at the disposal of the government, as 
soon as it shall express a desire that I shall do so. 
Accept, sir, the expression of my high esteem. 

Napoleon Louis Bonaparte. 



No. III. 

Letter to Louis Napoleon respecting the Nicaragua Canal. 

Leon de Nicaragua, Dec. 6. 1845. 

Prince : It is with the greatest pleasure I acknowledge 
the receipt of your highness's letter, dated the 12th of 
August, containing the expression of sentiments of friend- 
ship and esteem with which I feel highly honored. Annexed 
to it I found the development of your ideas relative to the 
canal of Nicaragua, viewed by you in that light which is 
best calculated to promote the welfare of Central America. 
You, at the same time, acquaint me that you are far more 



OP NAPOLEON III. 257 

disposed than when I first paid you a visit at Ham to come 
to this country, in order to advance, by your presence and 
exertions, the execution of that great work, sufficient of itself 
to satisfy the most noble ambition, and that you are ready to 
accept the necessary powers for its execution, without any 
other view than that of performing a task worthy of the great 
name you possess. 

When I went to France, some time ago, as minister pleni- 
potentiary to his majesty the King of the French, I was 
anxious, before leaving Europe, to pay you a visit at Ham. 
I longed for the honor of seeing you, not only on account of 
the popularity which invested your name throughout the 
world, but also because I had myself witnessed the high 
esteem in which your character was held in your own coun- 
try, and the sympathy exhibited for your misfortunes. 

It was also my wish, prince, to prevail on you to come to 
my country, fully convinced that you would find there an ad- 
mirable opportunity for the display of your activity, and the 
exercise of your talents, which continued inaction might ex- 
haust. I admired, prince, your resignation, and the love of 
your native land, standing even the test of imprisonment ; 
but it was with great pleasure that I saw your mind exulted 
at the recital of the immense work to be executed in my 
country for the general advancement of civilization. 

I am happy to see by your highness 's letter, that you feel 
disposed to come to this country, where the documents you 
have forwarded to me have elicited sentiments of the deepest 
gratitude and of the liveliest enthusiasm. 

Now, I am happy to be enabled to acquaint your highness 
that the government of this state, fully convinced that the 
capital necessary to this undertaking could only be raised by 
placing at its head a name which, like yours, is independent 
both by fortune and standing, and thereby inspiring a gene- 
ral confidence in the two worlds, whilst it dispels from the 
easily alarmed spirit of our people every fear of foreign 
domination — this government, I say, relies upon the co-ope- 
22* R 



258 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

ration of your highness, as the only person combining in the 
highest degree these different qualities. Brought up in a 
republic, your highness has shown by your noble behavior in 
Switzerland, in 1838, to what extent a free people may rely 
on your self-denial ; and we feel convinced that, if your uncle, 
the great Napoleon, has rendered himself immortal by his 
military glory, your highness may acquire, with us, an equal 
glory in works of peace, which cause only tears of gratitude 
to flow. 

From the day on which your highness shall set foot on 
our soil, a new era of prosperity for the inhabitants will 
commence. 

The most influential persons of this capital, distinguished 
both by their learning and their wealth, have presented to 
the government a memorial recommending that your high- 
ness be entrusted with the final settlement and terms of the 
impending negotiation, or of any other which might present 
itself — intended to promote the welfare of the State of Nica- 
ragua. The government has not rejected the suggestion, but 
it appears that, at all events, it will feel disposed to send me 
to you with the necessary instructions, to enable your high- 
ness and myself to come to an understanding on the subject. 

Another cause of the delay is the recent popular outbreak 
in the country ; but the number of malcontents being exceed- 
ingly small, and the government being supported by public 
opinion, I think that this revolution will soon be appeased, 
and the government will be able to display all the elements 
upon which it relies to insure permanent peace, and to give 
this project the strong impulse it justly demands. The go- 
vernment is moreover convinced that the construction of the 
canal, by giving employment to all those hands which are 
now unoccupied, will contribute efficaciously to the tranquil- 
ity and good of the people, harassed, for a long time, by the 
horrors of civil war. 

As much from a desire of bringing to a favorable issue this 
important matter, in which I am especially disposed to co- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 259 

operate with all my ability, as from an ardent hope of seeing 
your highness ruling the destinies of our country, I long for 
the honor of paying you, were it but a few hours, a visit at 
Ham, which I quitted last year full of grief at the prolonga- 
tion of a captivity from which I earnestly prayed God to grant 
you a speedy release. 

I beg that your highness will continue to honor me with 
your correspondence, and that you will accept the expression 
of my respectful sentiments. 

Franc. Castellan. 



No. IT. 

Letter of Odillon Barrot to the Prince Napoleon. 

Feb. 25, 1846. 

Prince : Our renewed negotiations have proved a failure ; 
and if I have delayed to inform you of the fact, it was 
because up to yesterday I still retained some hope. The 
government speaks of present circumstances — the state 
of Italy — that of Switzerland. These circumstances would, 
nevertheless, have been overlooked, had a more explicit gua- 
rantee been given in your letter, because then they would 
have dispensed with the council of ministers. But politics 
not having been put out of the question, it was necessary to 
yield to the considerations of public order which prevailed in 
the council. So, for the present, considering the circum- 
stances, no liberation is to be looked for. 

It is with great pain that I inform you of this result ; I 
had begged Yalmy to say to the king, that if we had com- 
pletely differed, since 1830, in political opinions, I hoped 
that, at least, we agreed in sentiments of humanity and gene- 
rosity. I now see that this is another of my Utopian ideas, 
which I shall be compelled to renounce. 

Accept, &c. 

Odillon Barrot. 



260 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 



No. Y. 

Louis Napoleon^ s Letter to M. Vieillard. 

London, May 11, 1848. 

My Dear M. Vieillard : I have not yet answered the let- 
ter which you addressed me from St. Lo, because I was wait- 
ing your return to Paris, when I would have an opportunity 
to explain ray conduct. 

I was not desirous to present myself as candidate at the 
elections, because I am convinced my position in the Assem- 
bly would have been extremely embarrassing. My name, my 
antecedents, have made of me, willing or unwilling, not a party 
chief, but a man upon whom the eyes of all malcontents are 
fixed.- As long as French society shall remain unsettled, as 
long as the constitution shall remain undecided, I feel that 
my position in France will be to me extremely difficult, weari- 
some, and even dangerous. 

I have then taken the firm resolution of keeping myself 
apart, and of resisting all the charms a residence in my own 
country should possess. 

If France needed me ; if my part were marked out ; if, in 
short, I thought I could be useful to my country, — I would 
not hesitate to fling aside these secondary considerations, and 
to fulfil my duty. But, in the present circumstances, I can 
do no good ; at most, I should only be in the way. 

On the other hand, I have important personal interests to 
attend to in England ; I shall wait here a few months longer 
then, until affairs in France assume a calmer and more de- 
cided aspect. 

I do not know but that you will blame me for this resolu- 
tion ; but, if you had an idea of the number of ridiculous 
propositions that reach me even here, you would easily under- 
stand how much more I should be a butt in Paris for all sorts 
of intrigues. 

I do not want to meddle in any thing ; I desire to see the 



OF NAPOLEON III. 261 

republic become strong in wisdom and in rights, and, in the 
mean time, I find vohmtary exile very agreeable, because I 
know it to be voluntary. 

Receive, &c. 

L. N. Bonaparte. 



No. YI. • 

Letter of Louis Napoleon to the National Assembly. 

Citizen Representatives : I learn, by the newspapers, 
that it has been proposed in the National Assembly to main- 
tain against me alone the law of exile which has been in force 
against my family since the year 1816 ; I now apply to the 
representatives of the people for information why I have de- 
served such a penalty. 

Can it be for having always publicly declared that, in my 
opinion, France was not the property either of an individual, 
or of a family, or of a party ? 

Can it be because, desiring to accomplish the triunaph, 
without anarchy or license, of the principles of national sove- 
reignty, which alone can put an end to our dissensions, I have 
been twice the victim of my hostility to a government which 
you have overthrown ? 

Can it be for having consented, out of deference to the wish 
of the provisional government, to return to a foreign country 
after having hastened to Paris upon the first report of the 
revolution ? 

Can it be for having disinterestedly refused those nomina- 
tions for the Assembly which were proffered to me, being 
resolved not to return to France until the new constitution 
should be agreed upon and the republic firmly established ? 

The same reasons which have made me take up arms 
against the government of Louis Philippe, would induce me, 
were my services required, to devote myself to the defence of 
the Assembly — the result of universal suffrage. 



262 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

In presence of a king elected by two hundred deputies, T 
might have recollected that I was heir to an empire founded 
by the consent of four millions of Frenchmen. 

In the presence of the national sovereignty I neither can 
nor will 'claim more than my rights as a French citizen ; but 
these I will demand incessantly, and with the energy imparted 
to an honest heart by the consciousness of never having done 
any thing to render it unworthy of its country. 



No. YII. 

Curious Scene in the National Assembly. 

The papers of the 24th of October, 1848, contained the 
following letter, signed by Prince Napoleon, son of Jerome : 

*' Some well-informed persons having warned representa- 
tive Louis Bonaparte that certain simpletons were secretly 
laboring to get up a riot in his name, with the evident object 
of compromising him in the eyes of men of order, and of sin- 
cere republicans, Louis Napoleon considered it his duty to 
make M. Dufaure, Minister of the Interior, aware of these 
reports ; he added that he utterly denied any participation in 
dealings so completely opposed to his political sentiments, 
and to the conduct which he has invariably pursued since the 
24th of February." 

The appearance of this note was the occasion of a violent 
altercation in the Assembly. 

M. Grandin asked the minister for some explanation re- 
garding this note, and the information alluded to by the 
prince. M. Dufaure replied that he had himself heard of 
hese reports, and added that he had immediately re-assured 
Louis Napoleon, by telling him that he was misinformed, and 
that no plot of such a nature was in contemplation. 

Hereupon Prince Napoleon stepped towards the tribune. 

The following almost verbal report of the ensuing scene is 
not without interest : 



OF NAPOLEON III. 263 

Voice on the Left (to Prince Napoleon). — It is not your 
business to speak. The other one must speak — Louis Bo- 
naparte ! 

Several Members. — He is absent. 

Many members of the Left, rising from their seats^ look in 
the direction of M. Louis Bonaparte's usual place : they per- 
ceive that his seat is occupied by another representative. 
They cry out none the less to M. Napoleon Bonaparte, still 
making his way to the tribune : No, not you — the other one. 

31. N. Bonaparte (in the tribune). — I do not come — (loud 
interruption). 

Numerous Voices. — Not you ! The other, the other I 

M. N. Bonaparte struggles against the interruptions for a 
quarter of an hour ; at last silence is restored, and he in- 
sists that he has a right to speak on the subject, since he is 
the author of the letter. He explains that it was sent to the 
papers with the particular purpose to prove that the Bonaparte 
family never had anything to do, and never would have any- 
thing to do, with riots. As soon as he left the tribune, 
representative Clement-Thomas occupied it. 

M. Clement- Thomas. — Gentlemen, I know it is a failing 
of mine to be always wanting to sift things to the bottom; 
and I am afraid this unpleasant feature in my character is 
going to make its appearance again to-day. But I must say, 
I am astonished that when a matter personally concerning 
one member of this Assembly is brought before you, it is 
another member that appears to answer for it. (Interruption 
— uproar.) 

A Voice. — The other is absent. 

M. Clement- Thomas. — It is not the first time that I 
remark the absence of representative Louis Bonaparte from 
this Assembly. 

Several Members. — What is that to you? 

A Member. — This is scandalous. 

M. Clement- Thomas. — It is unnecessary for me to say that 
I speak here in nobody's name ; no more for any party in the 



264 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Assembly than for the goveroment. No one is responsible 
for my words but myself. Well, then, I repeat it, it is not 
the first time that I remark the absence of M. Louis Bona- 
parte. (New interruption.) 
A Voice. — He is never here. 
Another Voice. — He never votes. 

M. Clement- Thomas. — And when I say this I know why 
I say it. You cannot deny that there are certain members 
of this Assembly who are about to present themselves to the 
country as candidates for very elevated and very important 
offices. (Vociferous exclamations — many members grouped 
in the passage on the right of the tribune, among whom are 
MM. N. Bonaparte, Pierre Bonaparte, Petri, &c., loudly 
interrupt the orator.) 

The President Marrast (ringing his bell). — The repre- 
sentatives standing in the passage will please resume their 
seats. 

By this time a violent agitation pervades the Assembly 
generally. 

M. Clement- Thomas. — I say that several members of this 
Assembly are about to offer themselves to the people. But it 
is not by hardly ever attending your sittings, it is not by 
taking no part in your voting, it is not by maintaining a 
reserved silence on whence we come, where we go, what we 
want, that we can pretend to gain the confidence of such a 
country as France. For my part, I suspect such tactics. 
(Interruption.) 

M. N. Bonaparte (quickly). — Yote against them then. 

Some Members. — Order, order ! 

President Marrast. — Monsier Napoleon Bonaparte, if you 
interrupt again I shall call you to order. 

M Clement- Thomas. — Since M. Napoleon Bonaparte is 
so ready to answer for his cousin 

Several Voices. — He has spoken for hira already. 

M. Clement- Thomas. — I will ask him if it is not true that 



OF NAPOLEON III. 265 

at this very moment agents are canvassing the provinces for 
M. Louis Bonaparte. 

Some Members. — Well, what of that? 

M Clement- Thomas. — I will ask him if it is not true that 
in every department they are presenting him to the least en- 
lightened portion of the population ? And if this be true, I 
ask M. Napoleon Bonaparte, on what title does his cousin 
put forward his claims ? (Interruption.) 

M. Isamberi. — On his title of citizen. 

M. N. Bonaparte. — Are we here to discuss candidates 
for the presidency ? 

M. Clement- Thomas. — M. Isambert tells me that every 
citizen has a right to present himself to the suffrages of his 
country ; but it seems to me that pretensions of this nature 
should be supported by real titles. 

M. Pierre Bonaparte. — That is impertinent, sir. 

M. Pietri. — Totally unbecoming I Who made you a judge 
of titles ? 

If. N. Bonaparte (indignantly). — We may be proscribed, 
but we must not be insulted ! (General tumult.) 

M. Clement-Thomas, seeing he has gone too far, leaves 
the tribune, amidst unmistakable marks of universal disap- 
probation. 

Perhaps he wished Louis Napoleon to send him a challenge. 

** One would think," said a general on his way home, after 
this scene : " one would think that M. Clement-Thomas has 
sufficient confidence in his sword, to rely upon it altogether 
for simplifying the presidential election." 

No. YIIL 

Speech of Louis Napoleon in the National Assembly. 

Of my sentiments or of my opinions I shall not speak ; I 
have already set them before you, and no one as yet has had 
reason to doubt my word. As to my parliamentary conduct, 
23 



266 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

I will say that as I never permit myself the liberty of bringing 
any of my colleagues to an account for the course which he 
thinks proper to pursue, so, in like manner, I never recognize 
in him the right to call me to an account for mine ; this 
account I owe only to my constituents. (Hear, hear 1) 

Of what am I accused ? Of accepting from the popular 
sentiment a nomination after which I have not sought. (Dis- 
turbance.) Well ! I accept this nomination, that does me 
so much honor ; I accept it, because three successive elections, 
and the unanimous decree of the National Assembly, reversing 
the proscriptions against my family, authorize me to believe 
that France regards the name I bear to be serviceable for the 
consolidation of society, now shaken to its foundations, — 
(Oh, oh 1 interruption) — and for the establishment and 
prosperity of the republic. 

How little do those who charge me with ambition know my 
heart I If an imperative duty did not keep me here, if the 
sympathy of my fellow-citizens did not console me for the 
violence of the attacks of some, and even for the impetuosity 
of the defences of others, long since would I have regretted 
my exile. (Citizens Clement-Thomas and Flocon- start up to 
speak. Commotion. Cries of order ! order !) 

I am reproached for my silence ! Few persons here are 
gifted with the faculty of eloquent speech obedient to just and 
sound ideas. But is there only one way to serve our country ? 
What she wants most of all is acts ; what she wants is a 
government, firm, intelligent, and wise, more desirous to heal 
the evils of society than to avenge them — a government that 
would openly set itself at the head of just ideas, and thus 
repel a thousand times more effectually than with bayonets 
those theories which are not founded on experience and 
reason. 

I know that parties intend to set my path with pits and 
snares ; but I shall not fall into them. I shall always follow, 
in my own way, the course which I have traced out, without 
troubling myself or stopping to see who is pleased. Nothing 



OF NAPOLEON III. 26T 

shall interrupt ray tranquillity, nothing shall induce me to 
forget my duty. I have but one aim ; it is to merit the 
esteem of the Assembly, and with this esteem, that of all good 
men, and the confidence of that magnanimous people that 
was made so light of here yesterday. (Exclamations.) 

I declare then to those who may be willing to organize a 
system of provocation against me, that, henceforward, I shall 
reply to no questioning, to no species of attack, to none who 
would have me speak when I prefer to be silent. Strong in 
the approval of my conscience, I shall remain immovable 
amidst all attacks, impassible towards all calumnies. 

No. IX. 

First Inaugural Address of President Kapoleon. 

The prince slowly ascended the tribune, and turned his face 
towards the president, who, in a loud and deliberate voice, 
read the oath of fidelity to the constitution : 

" In the presence of God, and before the French people, 
represented by the National Assembly, you swear to remain 
faithful to the democratic republic, and to defend the consti- 
tution." 

" I swear," said the prince, earnestly, holding up his right 
hand. 

"I take God and man to witness the oath just sworn,'*' 
cried the President Marrast. "It shall be inserted in the 
official report, in the Moniteur, and published in the forms 
prescribed by the public acts." These words, which might 
be considered as rather uncalled for, produced an evident im- 
pression on all present ; but the new president of the republic 
took no notice of it, and read the following inaugural dis- 
course : 

Citizen Representatives : The suffrages of the nation 
and the oath which I have taken command my future conduct. 
My duty is marked out ; I shall fulfil it as a man of honor. 



268 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

I shall treat as enemies of the country all those who may 
attempt to change, by illegal means, what entire France has 
established. 

Between you and me, citizen representatives, no real dis- 
sensions should exist : our wills, our desires are the same. 

I wish, like you, to place society on its bases, to strengthen 
democratic institutions, and to try every means to relieve the 
sufferings of the generous and intelligent people that has just 
given me such a splendid mark of confidence. (Cheers.) 

The majority which I have obtained not only fills me with 
gratitude, but it shall impart to the new government the moral 
force without which there is no authority. 

With the re-establishment of peace and order, our country 
can arise, heal her wounds, collect her stray children, and 
calm her passions. 

Animated with this conciliatory spirit, I have called around 
me men of honesty, talent, and patriotism, fully assured that, 
notwithstanding the differences of their political origin, they 
are determined to co-operate harmoniously with you in apply- 
ing the constitution to the perfection of the laws, to the glory 
of the republic. (Marked approbation.) 

The new administration, in entering on business, must 
thank its predecessor for its efforts to transmit the power in- 
tact, and to maintain public tranquility. (New applause.) 

The conduct of the honorable General Cavaignac has been 
worthy of the loyalty of his character, and of that sentiment 
of duty which is the first qualification of the head of a State. 
(Loud cheers.) 

We have, citizen representatives, a great mission to fulfil ; 
it is to found a republic for the interest of all, and a govern- 
ment just, firm, and animated wich a sincere love of progress, 
without being either reactionary or Utopian. 

Let us be men of the country, not men of a party, and, 
with the assistance of God, we shall accomplish useful if not 
great things. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 269 



No. X. 



Letter of Louis Napoleon to his Cousin, 

Elysee National, April 10, 1849. 

My dear Cousin : It is said that on your way through 
Bourdeaux you made use of words capable of sowing dissen- 
sion even among the best intentioned. You are reported to 
have said that I did not follow my own inspirations because 
I was ruled by the leaders of the reactionary movement ; that 
I was impatient of the yoke, and wanted to shake it off ; and 
that, in order to assist me at the approaching elections, it 
was necessary to send to the Chamber men hostile to my go- 
vernment, rather than those belonging to the moderate party. 

Such an imputation coming from you cannot but surprise 
me. You should know me well enough to be aware that I 
never brook the ascendency of any one, and that I struggle 
incessantly to govern for the interest of the people, not for 
the interest of a party. I honor those men who by their ca- 
pacity and experience can give me good counsels ; but if I 
receive daily the most contradictory advice, I obey nothing 
but the impulses of my own head and heart. 

Censure of my political conduct was last of all to be ex- 
pected from you, who found fault with my manifesto, because 
it had received the entire sanction of the chiefs of the mode- 
rate party. This manifesto, from which I have not deviated, 
still continues to be the conscientious expression of my 
sentiments. 

My first duty was to reassure the country. Well, confi- 
dence has been increasing during the last four months. Every 
day has its own task. Security first, reform afterwards. 

The approaching elections, I entertain no doubt, by 
strengthening the republic in order and moderation, will 
hasten the period of all possible reforms. To bring all the 
old parties together, to reconcile them, to unite them, should 
be the constant object of our exertions. Such is the mission 
23* 



2T0 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

attached to the great name we bear ; and it would prove a 
failure if it served to divide and not to rally the supporters 
of the government. 

For all these reasons I cannot approve of your being no- 
minated by a score of departments at once ; for, consider it 
well, under the protection of your name, it is expected to 
send to the Assembly representatives hostile to the govern- 
ment, and to discourage its best friends by wearying the 
people with multiplied elections which should be made over 
again. 

Henceforward, then, I hope, my dear cousin, you will use 
every exertion to enlighten the people regarding my real in- 
tentions, and to avoid furnishing grounds, by inconsiderate 
expressions, for absurd calumnies which go so far as to assert 
that sordid self-interest alone rules my conduct. Nothing, 
repeat it aloud, shall trouble the serenity of my judgment or 
shake the strength of my resolution. 

No. XI. 

Proclamation of Louis Napoleon. 
The President of the Republic to the French People. 

Some factious men presume once more to lift the standard 
of revolt against a legitimate government — legitimate, be- 
cause it is the production of universal suffrage. They accuse 
me of having violated the Constitution — me, who have pa- 
tiently endured for six months all their sneers, their calum- 
nies, their defiances. 

The majority of the Assembly itself is the constant theme 
of their outrages. 

The accusation brought against me is only a pretext. Of 
this the proof is, that those who attack me now persecuted 
me with the same hatred, and with the same injustice, at the 
time when the people of Paris nominated me as their repre- 
sentative, and the people of France as president of their 
republic. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 211 

This system of agitation maintains a state of uneasiness 
and mistrust that entails misery. It must cease. 

It is time for the good to take courage and the wicked to 
tremble. 

The republic has no enemies more implacable than those 
men who, by perpetuating disorder, compel us to change 
France into a vast camp, and our projects for amelioration 
and progress into preparations for defence. 

Elected by the nation, the cause which I defend is your 
own. It is that of your family as of your property ; of the 
poor as of the rich; that of civilization, in whole and in 
part. 

No. XII. 

Annual Message of President Napoleon to the Assembly, 
November, 1850. 

Our arms have overthrown that turbulent demagoguism 
which has compromised the cause of real liberty throughout 
the Italian peninsula, and our brave soldiers have had the 
signal honor of restoring Pius IX. to the throne of St. Peter. 
Party spirit shall never obscure this fact, which will always 
form a glorious page in the history of France. The con- 
stant aim of our exertions has been to encourage the liberal 
and philanthropic dispositions of the Holy Father. The 
pontifical power continues to realize the promises contained 
in the Motu Propria of September, 1849. 

Touching questions that most deeply engaged the minds 
of all, the message spoke with reserve, though the meaning 
of several passages was clear enough. Towards the end, it 
said : 

Notwithstanding the difficulty of circumstances, law and 
authority have so far recovered their empire that now no one 
dreams of the success of violent measures. But, on the 
other hand, the more fears diminish regarding the present, 
the more they increase regarding the future. France first 



2Y2 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

of all wants repose. She is hardly yet recovered from the 
dangers that threatened society, and remains indifferent to 
quarrels between parties or individuals, in the presence of 
the great interests that are at stake. 

Farther on, he says : 

As first magistrate of the republic, I have been obliged to 
put myself in communication with the clergy, the magistracy, 
the agriculturists, the manufacturers, the people, in short, 
and the army ; and I have taken care to seize every oppor- 
tunity to show them my gratitude for the support they have 
given me. If my name and my efforts have succeeded in 
arousing the spirit of the army, of which I alone, according 
to the terms of the Go7istitution, have the power to dispose ^ 
it is a service, I venture to say, which I have rendered the 
country, for I have always directed my personal influence to 
the advantage of order. 

It is now permitted to every one, except myself, to desire 
the speedy revision of our fundamental law. If the Consti- 
tution contains vices and dangers, you are at liberty to hold 
them up before the gaze of the country. I alone, bound 
down by my oath, circumscribe myself within its strictly 
drawn limits. 

The councils general have, in great numbers, expressed a 
wish for its revision. This wish is addressed to the legisla- 
tive power. As for me, the elect of the people, amenable 
hid to the people, I shall always conform, to the wishes of 
the people legally expressed. 

If in this session you vote the revision of the Constitution, 
our fundamental laws shall be reformed, and the system of 
the executive authority regulated ; if you do not vote it, the 
people, in 1852, will solemnly manifest the expression of 
their new wishes. But whatever may be the solutions of 
the future, let us understand each other, so that it may never 
be left to passion, or surprise, or violence, to decide the fate 
of a great nation. Let us inspire the people with a love of 
repose, by introducing calmness into our deliberations : let 



OF NAPOLEON III. 213 

US inspire them with a love of rectitude, by never forgetting 
its dictates ourselves : then, rely upon it, the progress made 
in our political morals will compensate for the danger of in- 
stitutions created in days of suspicions and uncertainties. 

What occupies me especially is, not to know who shall 
govern France in 1852, but to employ the time at my disposal 
in such a manner that the transition, whatever it may be, 
may take place without trouble or agitation. 

The employment which is noblest and worthiest of a gene- 
rous soul is, not to seek, when one is in power, by what ex- 
pedients he can retain himself there, but to seek incessantly 
for the means of consolidating, for the benefit of all, those 
principles of authority and morality which are continually 
struggling with the passions of men and the instability of the 
laws. 

I have loyally opened my heart to you ; you will corre- 
spond to my frankness by your confidence, to my good inten- 
tions by your co-operation, and God will do the rest. 



Ko. XIII. 

Famous Speech of President Napoleon at Dijon. 

I wish that such persons as entertain apprehensions regard- 
ing the future had accompanied me through the populations 
of the Yonne and the Cote d'Or. They would have had 
their minds set at rest by being able to judge for themselves 
of the real state of public feeling. They would have seeu 
that neither intrigue, nor attacks, nor passionate discussions 
of parties are in harmony with the sentiments and the situa- 
tion of the country. 

France does not wish either the return of the ancient 
regime — no matter under what form it may be disguised — or 
the trial of evil and impracticable Utopias. It is because I 
am the most natural adversary of the one and the other, that 
she has placed her confidence in me. If it be not so, how 

s 



274 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

else can be explained this touching sympathy entertained by 
the people towards me, which, whilst it repels the most 
ruinous controversies, absolves me from being the cause of 
their sufferings ? 

In fact, if ray government has not realized all the ameliora- 
tions which it has had in view, the blame lies in the manoeuvres 
of factions which paralyze the good dispositions of Assem- 
blies, as well as those of governments the most devoted to 
the public good. For the last three years it could be remarked 
that I was always seconded whenever the question was to 
subdue disorder by coercive enactments. And whenever I 
wished to do good, to establish the landed influence or to 
ameliorate the condition of the poorer classes, I met with 
nothing but inertness. It is because you have shared those 
convictions that I have found in patriotic Burgundy such a 
reception as is at once for me both approbation and encou- 
ragement. 

I take advantage of this banquet, as if it were a public 
tribune, to open to my fellow-citizens the bottom of my heart. 
A new phase of our political lif^ is commencing. From one 
end of France to the other, petitions are being signed in 
favor of the revision of the Constitution ; I await with confi- 
dence the manifestation of the country and the decision of the 
Assembly, which can only be actuated by the sole thought of 
the public good. If France feels that she must not be dis- 
posed of against her will, France has but to say so ; she shall 
not be without my courage and my energy. 

Since I came into power, I have proved how much, in the 
presence of the grave interests of society, I disregarded what- 
ever affected myself personally. The most unjust and the 
most violent attacks have failed to affect my attitude of 
calmness. Whatever duties the country may impose, she shall 
find me resolute to execute her will. And believe me, gen- 
tlemen, France shall not perish in my hands. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 275 

No. XIY. 
Second Annual Message of President Napoleon. 

A vast demagogical conspiracy is now organizing in France 
and Europe. Secret societies are endeavoring to extend 
their ramifications even into the smallest communes. Without 
being able to agree on men or things, they have agreed to 
bring all the madness, the violence, and the obduracy of 
parties to a focus in 1852, not to construct, but to overthrow. 

Your patriotism and your courage, with which I will en- 
deavor to keep pace, will, I am sure, save France from the 
dangers with which she is threatened. But to conquer these 
dangers we must look at them without fear and without 
exaggeration ; and, whilst convinced, thanks to the strength 
of the administration, to the enlightened zeal of the magis- 
trates, and to the devotion of the army, that France cannot 
perish, let us unite our efforts to deprive the spirit of evil 
even of the hope of a momentary success. 

The best means to attain this end has always appeared to 
me the application of that system which consists, on the one 
hand, in satisfying the legitimate interests ; and, on the other, 
in stifling, at the moment of their appearance, the slightest 
symptoms of an attack against religion, morality, or society. 

Thus, to procure labor by granting to companies our great 
lines of railway, and M'ith the money which the state will 
procure from these projects to give a strong impulse to the 
other works in all the departments ; to encourage the institu- 
tions destined to develop agricultural or commercial credit ; 
to come, by the establishment of charitable institutions, to the 
assistance of poverty, — such has been, and such still must be, 
our first care ; and it is by following this course that it will 
be easier to recur to means of repression when their necessity 
shall have become felt. 

After describing the state of the country, he comes to the 
grand feature of the message — the restoration of universal 



216 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTOKY 

suffrage. He uses every argument to urge them to an adop- 
tion of the measure. 

The state of general uneasiness, said he, is increasing 
every day. Employment grows slack, poverty spreads, the 
interests become more apprehensive, and expectations hostile 
to society become more exulting as the almost exhausted 
public authorities approach their term. 

In such a state of things, my duty is the same to-day as it 
was yesterday. It consists in maintaining order, and in 
removing every occasion of disturbance, so that the resolutions 
which are to decide our fate may be conceived in tranquillity 
and adopted in peace. 

These resolutions can emanate only from a decisive act of 
the national sovereignty, since they have popular election for 
a basis. Well ! I have asked myself whether, in the presence 
of the delirium of passions, of the confusion of doctrines, of 
the division of parties, when everything is combined to attack 
morality, justice, and authority, we ought to leave shaken and 
incomplete the only principle which, in the middle of the 
general chaos, Providence has kept standing to rally us 
around it. 

Since universal suffrage has reconstructed the social edifice 
by substituting a right for a revolutionary fact, is it wise in 
us to narrow its basis any longer ? Finally, I have asked 
myself if, when new powers shall preside over the destinies 
of the country, it would not be compromising their stability 
beforehand to leave behind us a pretext for questioning their 
origin, or for misrepresenting their legitimacy ? 

No doubt on the subject was possible ; and without wishing 
to swerve for a single instant from the policy of order which 
I have always followed out, I have been obliged, much to my 
regret, to separate from a cabinet which possessed all my con- 
fidence, in order to choose another, which, equally composed 
of honorable men publicly known for their conservative senti- 
ments, has moreover consented to admit the necessity of re- 
establishing universal suffrage on the broadest possible basis. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 277 

You will, therefore, have presented to yoii tlie draught of 
a law which restores the principle in all its fulness. 

The project has no features which can offend this Assem- 
bly ; for, if I think it expedient to ask to-day for the with- 
drawal of the law of the 31st of May, I do not mean to deny 
the approbation which I gave at that time to the cabinet 
which claimed from the chief of the majority, whose work it 
was, the honor of presenting it. 

If we remember the circumstances under which this law was 
presented, we shall not, I believe, refuse to allow that it was 
an act of policy, rather than an electoral law, that it was 
really and truly a measure to insure the public tranquillity. 
Whenever the majority shall propose to me energetic measures 
for the safety of the country, it may rely on my loyal and 
disinterested support. But even the best of such measures 
have but a limited time. 

The law of the 31st of May has, in its application, even 
gone beyond the object intended to be attained. No one 
foresaw the suppression of three millions of electors, two- 
thirds of whom are peaceful inhabitants of the country. 
What has been the result ? Why, that this exclusion has 
served as a pretext to the anarchist party, who cloak their 
detestable designs by appearing to conquer back a right of 
which they had been despoiled. Too weak in numbers to 
take possession of society by their votes, they hope, under 
favor of the general emotion and the decline of the powers 
of the State, to kindle at several points of France, instanta- 
neously, troubles which w^ould be quelled, no doubt, but 
which should inevitably throw us into fresh complications. 

Another serious objection is this : The constitution requires, 
for the validity of the election of a president by the people, 
at least two millions of suffrages ; and if this number is not 
made up, the right of election is conferred on the Assembly. 
The Constituent Assembly had therefore decided that, out of 
ten million voters inscribed on the lists, one-lifth was sufficient 
to render the election valid. 
24 



278 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

At the present time, the number of electors being reduced 
to seven millions, to require two millions is to invert the pro- 
portion ; that is to say, it is to demand one-third instead of 
one-fifth, and thus, in a certain eventuality, to take the elec- 
tion out of the hands of the people, and give it to the 
Assembly. It is, therefore, positively changing the condition 
of the eligibility of the president of the republic. 

Lastly, I call your particular attention to another reason, 
which, perhaps, may prove decisive. 

The re-establishment of universal suffrage on its principal 
basis furnishes an additional chance of obtaining the revision 
of the constitution. You have not forgotten why the adver- 
snries of this revision refused last session to vote for it. They 
used this argument, which they knew how to render specious : 
"The Constitution," said they, ''which is the work of an 
Assembly taking its rise in universal suffrage, cannot be 
modified by an Assembly issuing from a restricted suffrage." 
Whether this be a real motive, or only a pretext, it is expe- 
dient to set it aside, and be able to say to those who would 
bind the country down to an immutable constitution, "Be- 
hold universal suffrage re-established. The majority of the 
Assembly, supported by two millions of petitioners, by the 
greater number of the councils of arrondissement, and almost 
unanimously by the councils general, demands the revision 
of the fundamental compact. Have you less confidence than 
we in the expression of the popular will ?" 

The question, therefore, may be thus stated to all those 
who desire a pacific solution of the difficulties of the day : 
" The law of the 31st of May has its imperfections ; but even 
were it perfect, should it not, nevertheless, be repealed if it 
resists the revision of the Constitution, that manifest wish of 
the country ?" 

It is objected, I am aware, that on my part these pro- 
posals are inspired by personal interest. My conduct for the 
last three years ought to repel such an allegation. The wel- 
fare of the country, I repeat, will always be the sole moving 



OF NAPOLEON III. 279 

spring of my conduct. I believe it my duty to propose every 
means of conciliation, and to use every effort to bring about 
a pacific, regular, legal solution, whatever may be its issue. 

Thus, then, gentlemen, the proposal I make to you is 
neither a piece of party tactics, nor an egotistical calculation, 
nor a sudden resolution ; it is the result of serious meditation 
and of profound conviction. I do not pretend that this 
measure will banish all the difficulties of the situation. But 
to each day its own task. 

To-day to re-establish universal suffrage is to deprive civil 
war of its flag, the opposition of its last argument. It is to 
furnish France with the possibility of giving itself institutions 
which may insure its tranquillity. It is to give the future 
powers of the state that moral force which can only exist so 
long as it reposes on a consecrated principle, and on an in- 
contestable authority. 

No. XY. 

Memoir of Louis Bonaparte, ex-King of Holland} 

Loms, the third brother of Napoleon I., and supposed 
father of Napoleon III., was born at Ajaccio on the 2d of 
September, 1778. During the siege of Toulon, in the early 
part of 1793, Napoleon frequently visited Marseilles, for the 
purpose of hastening the preparations for the siege, and at 
the same time of seeing his family. In one of these visits 
he prevailed on his mother to send Louis, then little more 
than fourteen years of age, to the school at Chalons, to un- 
dergo the examination necessary to his entrance into the 
artillery ; for which service he had always been intended. 

On the recapture of Toulon, Napoleon, being appointed 
to survey the line of fortifications on the Mediterranean coast 
of France, took Louis with him, intending to place him on 
his staff with the rank of sub-lieutenant. 

'■ Adapted from an English work. 



280 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

When, in 1'794, Napoleon joined the army of Italy, then 
stationed at Nice, the representatives of the people wished 
to confer on Louis the rank of captain ; but as he was little 
more than fifteen, the measure was objected to by his brother. 
Napoleon used to relate sundry anecdotes of Louis, which, 
while they evince the most ardent fraternal attachment, afford 
proofs of courage and coolness. The first time he was led 
into an engagement, Louis, far from betraying any astonish- 
ment, was anxious to serve as a rampart to his brother. This 
was before Saorgio, on the high road from Nice to Ten da. 
While the enemy were keeping up a brisk fire of artillery, 
Louis placed himself before Napoleon, as he proceeded along 
the outside of the intrenchraents, for the purpose of ex- 
amining them ; and in this position he continued during the 
whole of the inspection. 

On another occasion they happened to be 1:ogether at a 
battery, upon which the enemy kept up a smart fire. As the 
breastworks were only three or four feet high, the garrison 
frequently stooped down to shelter themselves. Napoleon, 
observing that Louis, imitating his own example, remained 
immovable, asked him the reason: "I have heard you say," 
replied Louis, "that an artillery-officer should never fear 
cannon, it being our best weapon." 

Louis was little more than seventeen when he a second 
time joined the army of Italy, then commanded by his 
brother ; to whom, though he had only the rank of lieutenant, 
he was appointed aid-de-camp. At this early stage of his 
career, he was of an observant and silent character. "He 
felt," he says, "a vacuity of heart and a sentiment of deep 
regret, at seeing himself impelled into a career of trouble- 
some ambition." He already sighed for retirement and a 
peaceful occupation. He displayed courage on several occa- 
sions, but only by fits ; and the acquirement of a military 
reputation gave him no concern. 

At Nice he met with an accident which had nearly cost 
him an eye. While returning from a mission at full gallop, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 281 

on a young and fiery horse, he was met by his brother aid- 
de-camp, Junot, on foot, who friglitened the animal in order 
to try the skill of its rider. Louis fell, and the wound he 
received was so improperly treated that the scar remained 
till his death. 

He and the brave Lannes, afterward Duke of Montebello, 
were the first who, in May, 11 dQ, passed the Po. At the 
taking of Pizzighitone, Louis entered the breach with Dom- 
martin, the general of artillery. He was present at the 
driving in of the gales of Pavia, and the reduction and par- 
tial pillage of that city. At this horrible spectacle he was 
greatly shocked, and became thenceforward still more cold 
and taciturn. He was present at the battle of Yaleggio, 
after which the Mincio was forcibly passed, with the Austrian 
army in front. He presented to the Directory the colors 
taken at the btittle of Castiglione, and had the rank of cap- 
tain conferred on him as a mark of their affection. 

He was also at the battle-s of Brenta, Coldiero, and Kivoli ; 
and at the memorable one of Areola, which lasted three days, 
he was exposed during the hottest period of the attack to 
imminent peril. The brave Lannes fell wounded by his side; 
and Napoleon's horse having sunk with him in a morass, 
Louis succeeded in getting hold of one of his brother's 
hands ; but not being sufficiently strong, he was drawn alono* 
with him, and both must have perished, had not Marmont, 
with two subalterns, extricated them from their perilous situa- 
tion. This took place on the first day. On the second 
Louis was charged with important orders from the general- 
in-chief to General Robert, and being the only person on 
horseback, he was marked out by the tirailleurs of the enemy, 
and exposed for a long time to their fire. On regaining his 
brother. Napoleon expressed a feeling of surprise and joy at 
seeing him : "I believed you dead," said he ; and his death 
had been actually announced to him by some of the grenadiers. 

Pending the negotiations in 1121, previous to the treaty 
of Carapo Formio, Louis was sent to reconnoitre the ad- 
24* 



282 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

vanced posts of the enemy. This important duty lasted 
eight days, and his conduct received the highest praise from 
his brother. On this inspection he jBrst saw the young Ber- 
trand, who then belonged to the engineers at Osappo. He 
soon appreciated his merit, and recommended him to his 
brother. This is the person who was afterward grand mar- 
shal, and accompanied Napoleon into exile. 

When the expedition to Egypt was in contemplation, 
Louis was anxious to serve in it ; but, for a personal reason, 
he was desirous of setting out later than the rest of the aids- 
de-camp. His sister Caroline was then at the celebrated 
boarding-school of Madame Campan, at St. Germain. 
Thither he frequently repaired, and became acquainted with 
a female friend of his sister, whose father had emigrated at 
the commencement of the Revolution. He fell^ a warm inte- 
rest in her behalf, esteemed the qualities of her mind and 
heart, and thought her altogether the most beautiful young lady 
he had ever seen. Walking one evening with Casablanca, a 
naval officer and a friend of his brother, he could not con- 
ceal his sentiments, but confided them to that gentleman. 
Casablanca was alarmed. '' Do you know%" said he, "that 
a marriage of this description might be highly injurious to 
your brother, and make him an object of suspicion with 
the government ?" On the following day, Napoleon sent 
for Louis, and desired him to set out Instantly for Toulon. 
Instead of losing time in fruitless attempts to convince a love- 
sick youth of the folly of his passion, he procured from the 
minister of war an order for his immediate departure. 

In May, 1798, Louis embarked with the expedition for 
Egypt. Being greatly fatigued with the voyage, he was per- 
mitted to remain at Alexandria, where he was an eyewitness 
of the ever-memorable battle of the Nile. On the blowing 
up of the French admiral's ship, L'Orlent, "the whole hori- 
zon," he says, "seemed on fire; the earth shook, and the 
smoke which proceeded from the vessel ascended heavily in a 
mass, like an immense black balloon. It then brightened up, 



OP NAPOLEON III. 283 

and exhibited the objects of all descriptions which were pre- 
cipitated on the scene of the battle. What a terrible moment 
of fear and desolation for the French who witnessed this 
awful catastrophe !" 

While in Egypt, Louis wrote several letters to his friends 
in France. One to his brother Joseph, which was inter- 
cepted by the British cruisers and made public, breathes a 
tone of philanthropy very creditable to the youthful writer. 
''The Mamelukes," he says, ''have no idea of children's 
play : they either kill or are killed. The Bedouins are an 
invincible people, inhabiting a burning desert, mounted on 
the fleetest horses in the world, and full of courage. They 
live, with their wives and children, in flying camps, which are 
never pitched two nights together in the same place. They 
are horrible savages, and yet they have some notion of gold ! 
A small quantity of it serves to excite their admiration. 
Yes, ray dear brother, they love gold ; they pass their lives 
in extorting it from such Europeans as fall into their hands ; 
and for what purpose? — for continuing the course of life 
^ which I have described, and for teaching it to their children. 
0, Jean Jacques ! why was it not thy fate to see those men 
whom thou callest 'the men of Nature?' thou wouldst sink 
with shame and startle with horror at the thought of having 
once admired them ! Oh ! how many misanthropes would 
be converted, if chance should conduct them into the midst 
of the deserts of Arabia!" 

On setting out for Syria, Napoleon, yielding to the entrea- 
ties of his brother, consented to his return to France. Louis 
accordingly, on the 11th of May, 1799, took his departure 
from Egypt in a small gun-boat, carrying with him despatches 
for the Directory; and after a voyage of two months, during 
which he escaped, as it were, by miracle, the Turkish, Bus- 
sian, English, and even Portuguese vessels, he reached Porto 
Yecchio. On his way to Paris, he stopped at Sens, and was 
not a little surprised to find, at Madame de Bourrienne's, the 
intercepted correspondence, seized by the English and 



284 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

printed at London, containing his own letter to his brother 
Joseph, of which the above is an extract, as well as others, 
"the publication of which would," he observed, "on the 
return of the army to France, give birth to unpleasant scenes 
in more families than one. "^ 

In December, 1*799, on Napoleon's elevation to the consul- 
ship, Louis was appointed colonel of a regiment of dragoons, 
and sent to serve in Normandy, where the troubles had not 
entirely ceased. Peace soon followed ; but it was thought ex- 
pedient that four of the Chouan leaders should be tried by a 
court-martial, and Louis was called upon to preside. This, 
however, he obstinately refused, nor could entreaties or 
threats induce him to consent. He protested against the 
sentence of death passed upon these unfortunate persons, 
and during its execution not only confined himself to his 
quarters, as if it had been a day of mourning, but ordered his 
officers to do the same. His regiment was soon after re- 
called to Paris ; and from this time he appears to have lost, 
in a great degree, the good-will of his brother. 

It seems, however, to have been a favorite object with Na- 
poleon, and more especially with Josephine, to effect a mar- 
riage between her daughter Hortense and Louis. The pro- 
position was made to him in July, 1800, shortly after the 
return of the First Consul from the brilliant campaign of 
Marengo, and he then gave it a decided negative ; "not," 
he says, ''from any unfavorable opinion entertained of the 
character or morals of the young lady, who was the subject 
of general praise, but because he was afraid their characters 
were not suited to each other." 

Not lonir after the proposition w^as renewed, but with no 
better success ; and to escape further importunities, Louis 
made a tour of several months in Germany. He there met 
with a gracious reception from the King and Queen of 
Prussia, and from that time never ceased to express the 
highest esteem for that illustrious house. "And what an 

' De Bourrienne, torn. ii. p. 207. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 285 

iron heart," he gallantly observes, " must that man have had, 
who would not have been touched with the enchantinjr spec- 
tacle of a court at once military and polished, in which the 
most beautiful, most gracious, and most amiable of women 
enjoyed the love and affection of her subjects!" 

Ou his return from this excursion, he was assailed with a 
fresh repetition of the proposal. An expedition was at that 
time organizing for Portugal, in which he contrived to have 
his regiment included, and thus obtained a new pretence for 
eluding the importunities of his over-kind relations, who, 
like certain parents and uncles on the stage, seemed obsti- 
nately bent upon making poor Louis happy against his will. 

On passing through Mont-de-Marsan, in the department 
of Landes, he was received with demonstrations of joy, on 
account of his brother. Scarcely had he entered the hotel 
of the prefecture, when the prefect presented to him all the 
constituted authorities ; at the head of whom was the vene- 
rable president of the tribunal, who had his speech ready pre- 
pared in his hand, and was intent on delivering it. The 
orator advanced, and with solemn voice began — "Young and 
valiant hero !" This was too much for Lonis. He instantly 
stepped forward, and snatching, in a good-humored manner, 
the oration out of the hand of the spokesman, said : " M. le 
President, this address is, I suppose, intended for my brother. 
I will take care to acquaint him with the kind sentiments you 
entertain towards him." This put an end to the harangue, 
as well as to the presentations. 

Immediately after Louis's return from Portugal, in Octo- 
ber, 1801, Josephine renewed with fresh spirit the matri- 
monial charge, and with better success than heretofore. One 
evening, when there was a ball at Malmaison, she took him 
aside. Napoleon joined the conference, and after a long con- 
versation, Louis says, "they made him give his consent" — 
*' on lui fit donner son consentement. " The day of the nup- 
tials was fixed, and on the 4th of January, 1802, the con- 
tract, the civil marriage, and the religious ceremony took 



286 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

place at the First Consul's private residence in the Rue de la 

Yictoire. 

"AVithout connubial Juno's aid they wed: 

Nor Hymen nor the Graces bless the bed!" 

"^ever," exclaims Louis, in a tone of anguish, "was there 
a more gloomy ceremony ! Never had husband and wife a 
stronger presentiment of the horrors of a reluctant and ill- 
assorted union !" From this he dates the commencement 
of his unhappiness, his bodily and mental sufferings. It 
stamped on his whole existence a profound melancholy, a de- 
jection, a drying of the heart, which, he adds, "nothing 
ever could, or ever will remedy." As for Hortense, who had 
only left Madame Campan's boarding-school a few weeks 
before the wedding, a lady who was present at a ball given 
in honor of it by Madame de Montesson, states, that " every 
countenance beamed with satisfaction, save that of the bride, 
whose profound melancholy formed a sad contrast to the hap- 
piness which she might have been expected to evince : she 
seemed to shun her husband's very looks, lest he should read 
in hers the indifference she felt towards him," 

During the years 1802, 1803, and 1804, Louis was almost 
entirely with his regiment, or at the mineral baths. In 1804 
he was appointed general of brigade; and at this period the 
death of the Duke d'Enghien took place. On learning the 
sad catastrophe, he repaired to Paris ; but he was too late, 
and could only add his tears to those of Josephine, Hortense, 
and Caroline. Louis represents his brother as being, for 
several days, melancholy, absent, and slovenly ; and declares 
that he must have been drawn into the adoption of the fatal 
measure in a hasty and perfidious manner. 

On Napoleon being crowned Emperor, Louis was made 
general of division and counsellor of state; and in 1805, 
during his brother's absence in Germany, he received the 
command of the garrison of Paris ; in which situation he dis- 
played a zeal and activity that could scarcely have been ex- 
pected from him. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 28T 

We now arrive at the period when Louis was elevated to 
the throne of Holland. The first intimation he had of Na- 
poleon's intention was conveyed to him daring the campaign 
of Austerlitz. At that time Louis commanded a corps of 
troops stationed in Holland, to protect the northern portion 
of the empire against a diversion on the part of Prussia ; 
and his conduct while there was praised by Napoleon in one 
of the bulletins of the grand array. At the close of the cam- 
paign, Louis sent back most of the troops to Paris, and went 
to meet the Emperor at Strasburg. He was received with 
coldness, and reprimanded for his hasty departure from Hol- 
land. Louis replied, that the rumors which were in circula- 
tion in Holland, with respect to certain changes in the go- 
vernment of that country, had hastened his departure, and 
were of a nature to displease that estimable nation. Napo- 
leon gave him to understand that they were not unfounded, 
and that he was to be created king of Holland. 

Thinking he should be able to find pretexts for declining 
an honor for which he was not ambitious, Louis gave him- 
self little uneasiness about it. However, in the spring of 
1806, there arrived at Paris from Holland a deputation of 
five ambassadors, all men of rank and consequence ; and after 
four months of negotiation, a treaty was concluded, by which 
the Dutch republic was transformed into a monarchy. Louis 
was not invited to their sittings, and received no official in- 
timation that his personal interest was at all connected 
with them ; but at length, the ambassadors made him ac- 
quainted with what had been going on, and assured him that 
their nation gave him their preference forking. He did what 
he could to avoid expatriation, but was insultingly told by 
his brother, that he need not be frightened before he was 
hurt ; and on every thing being matured. Napoleon informed 
him that he was to be king of Holland, and that if he had 
not hitherto been consulted, it was because it was the duty 
of a subject to obey. 

Louis still held out. He pleaded the delicacy of his con- 



288 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

stitution, and the unfaTourableness of the climate. "Better 
to die a king than live a prince,'- was the unbrotherly reply ;^ 
and in a day or two after, Talleyrand waited on him at St. 
Leu, and read aloud to him and Hortense the treaty and con- 
stitution which had just been concluded. On being asked 
whether he approved of them, he answered, that not having 
been in the secret, he could not form an opinion at a single 
reading, but that he would endeavor to do his best. This 
took place on the 3d of June, 1806. On the 5th, Louis and 
his wife were proclaimed king and queen of Holland. 

Louis now gave himself up with enthusiasm to the hope 
of being useful to two millions of men, and resolved to 
devote himself to their happiness. He remained a week at 
St. Leu, and during that time endeavored to gain from the 
deputation a general notion of the state of the country over 
which he was about to rule. Finding its treasury empty, and 
that France owed it three millions of florins (250,000/.), lent 
to the French governors of the colonies in the East Indies, 
he demanded of the Emperor the repayment of it, but with- 
out success. All the money he carried with him into Hol- 
land was seven hundred thousand francs, not 30,0001., the 
arrears of his annual allowance from the state, and which 
belonged to him personally. 

Louis and his family left Paris on the 15th of June. On 
approaching the Dutch frontiers he changed his cockade ; 
not, he says, " without great pain, and shedding sincere 
tears." He arrived on the 18th at the Hague, and his first 
care was to form a ministry. He inquired into the integrity 
and merit of individuals, and on these he founded his confi- 
dence. To the several addresses presented to him, he re- 
plied : '' that from the moment he set foot on the soil, he had 
become a Dutchman." He promised to protect justice, as 
he would protect commerce, by throwing the access to it 
open, and removing every thing that might impede it. 



* De Bourrienne, torn, viii. p. 126. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 289 

*' With me, "he said, "there shall be no different relij^ions — 
no different parties ; merit and services shall form the sole 
ground of distinction." 

The necessities of his treasury demanding immediate atten- 
tion, he despatched an individual to Paris, to inform his 
brother that unless he liquidated the debt due to Holland, 
took the French troops into his own pay, and lessened the 
Daval force, he would instantly abdicate ; meantime, without 
waiting for an answer, he gave directions for such reductions 
as it was in his" power to make. He also represented to Na- 
poleon, that the suppression of all commerce and navigation, 
which was merely a severe loss for France, was the same 
thing as depriving Holland of its very soil. 

He soon perceived that the government of Holland must 
found its chief support on public opinion. He set about 
drawing up in silence the plan of a Constitution, of the most 
simple description, alike suited to the taste and the habits of 
his subjects ; and he took steps for obtaining a uniform civil 
and criminal code, which should unite the principles of jus- 
tice with those of humanity. He also appointed two com- 
mittees, composed of the ablest professors and men of letters, 
to draw up a uniform system of weights and measures ; and 
though the good he thus intended was not attained during 
his reign, it has since been carried into complete effect by the 
present sovereign of the Netherlands. Besides these, Louis 
projected sundry ameliorations connected with the health of 
his subjects and the salubrity of his country. Himself a 
victim, ever since the age of two-and-twenty, to a slow and 
extraordinary disease, he had often had occasion to direct 
his attention to this important object. He enlarged the 
public libraries, encouraged the fine arts, by distributing 
prizes and sending pupils to Paris and Rome, founded a 
General Institution of Arts and Sciences, and created the 
order of Union and Merit, selecting for its device the Dutch 
maxim : " Doe wel en zie niet om ;" — " Do what you ought j 
happen what may." 

25 T 



290 PtJBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

In January, 180T, a shock like that of an earthquake was 
felt at the Hague, and a light in the horizon announced a ter- 
rible fire, in the direction of Leyden. Louis happened to be 
on his way thither, when he was informed that a vessel laden 
with gunpowder had blown up in the centre of the city. On 
his arrival, he was horrorstruck at the spectacle that pre- 
sented itself. Eight hundred houses had been levelled with 
the ground ; and with their fall, numerous families, while en- 
joying the repast of dinner, were precipitated into eternity — 
fathers, mothers, children, and domestics, all were hurried to 
a promiscuous grave. Every window in the place was 
smashed to atoms, and thus the bread, flour, and other ne- 
cessaries of life were rendered dangerous and useless, by the 
showers of powdered glass that fell in all directions. 

Attended by the magistrates, Louis traversed the scene of 
desolation. He ascended the ruins, mixed with the laborers, 
visited the wounded, promised a reward to every one who 
succeeded in rescuing a fellow-creature from beneath the rub- 
bish, and did not quit the spot till daybreak of the following 
morning. He sent off to the principal towns for succors of 
all kinds, and ordered his palace in the Wood, between 
Leyden and the Hague, to be thrown open to those respect- 
able families whom the accident had left houseless. On after- 
ward receiving the thanks of the magistrates, he returned a 
most benignant answer. "The dead," said he, "I cannot 
restore to you ; that is above human power ; but all that I 
can I will do for your city." Louis kept his word. He 
proposed to the legislative body the measures necessary to its 
restoration ; directed a general subscription to be set on foot, 
which was so productive, that the inhabitants were indem- 
nified for their pecuniary losses ; and decreed that Leyden 
should become the seat of the Royal University. 

Again, in 1809, when a sudden inundation spread desola- 
tion over several districts, Louis was on the spot, performing 
the same beneficent offices. He traversed the whole of it 
during two days and a night, visited every village, consoled 



OF NAPOLEON III. 291 

and encouraged the inhabitants, and promptly rewarded 
those who raost exposed themselves to danger. 

At the close of 1806, the famous Berlin decree was 
enacted, prohibiting all intercourse with England, and Louis 
was required to enforce it in Holland. He could not avoid 
taking some analogous steps, but he would not re-enact the 
decree. On complaints being made, that a contraband trafiSc 
was carrying on, Louis coolly replied ; "Empechez done la 
peau de transpirer?" — "You might as well forbid the skin 
to perspire!" At another time^ while he was standing on 
one of the quays, with some French courtiers, a Swedish 
vessel was seen coming up, with her flags flying. The cir- 
cumstance being pointed out to him, he replied coolly, that he 
saw nothing but a merchant ship, and turned his back on the 
officious informer. 

After the conquest of Prussia, he sent a deputation to his 
brother at Berlin to congratulate him on the achievement ; 
but instead of meeting with a gracious reception, Napoleon 
loaded them and their master with the grossest insults, and 
shortly after compelled Louis to concede several provinces, 
including Flushing. 

About this time, Napoleon, who was making arrangements 
for taking possession of Spain, conceived the design of trans- 
ferring Louis to the throne of that country. He accordingly 
addressed a letter to him, in March, 1808, in which he opened 
his plan, intimating, among other things, that the climate of 
Holland was unfavorable to his health. "Tell me categori- 
cally," he said, " if I make you king of Spain, will you agree 
to it? answer me — yes, or ?io." The surprise of Louis, on 
receiving so impolitic, unjust, and shameful a proposition, 
was only equalled by his indignation: — "I am not the 
governor of a province," he said: "for a king there is no 
promotion but to heaven ; they are all equal : with what face 
can I demand an oath of fidelity from another people, if I am 
unfaithful to that which I have taken to the Dutch ?" His 



292 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

answer was a direct refusal ; and the throne of Spain was 
given to Joseph. 

What the feelings of Louis at this time were, with reference 
to his brother, may be collected from the following anecdote. 
He was one day conversing with the Russian minister, Prince 
Dolgorouki, on the possibility of enforcing the decree against 
commerce in Holland. "We live on hope," said Louis, 
"and by expedients, as Heaven permits" — " comme le Ciel 
le permet," The ambassador, in allusion to the word 
"heaven," and wishing to discover whether the king had 
authorized any relaxation of his prohibitory measures, quoted, 
with a smile, the line from Tartuffe : 

" II est avec le ciel des accommodemens." i 

" Oui, monsieur," said Louis, "mais il n'en est pas avec 
I'enfer,"^ and changed the conversation. 

The relations between France and Holland continued in 
this state until the peace with Austria, in 1809 ; when Napo- 
leon would frequently say to his officers at Schoenbrunn. 
" We have nothing to do now but to march against Spain 
and Holland. " In speaking of his brother, he would exclaim, 
*' Louis is no longer French ; he is rather the brother and 
ally of King George." In this state of things, Louis was 
advised to pay Napoleon a visit, and endeavor to induce him 
to change his determination. He reached Paris in December, 
but had little reason to be satisfied with the success of his 
journey. At their first interview, the brothers had a warm 
dispute on the affairs of Holland. Advantage, however, was 
taken of his presence to make an overture to the British 
ministry for the repeal of the orders in council, and Louis 
was given to understand, that if those orders were not revoked, 
Holland would be united to the French empire. The British 

1 " There is such a thing as coming to a compromise with heaven." 

2 " Yes, sir, but not with hell." 



OF NAPOLEON III. 293 

government declined the overture ; and Louis, pressed iu 
every way, was induced to sign a treaty, providing for the in- 
troduction of a body of French troops into Holland, to co- 
operate iu enforcing the continental system. 

Louis returned to Holland in April, 1810. In submitting 
to the humiliating conditions imposed on him, he seems to 
have intended to put Napoleon as much as possible in the 
wrong, that he might, in the end, appeal to the spirit of the 
people for the purpose of making an active resistance ; and 
when, on the 29th of June, the French troops were about to 
establish their head-quarters in Amsterdam, he had come to 
the determination to place the country in a posture of defence 
by cutting the dikes ; but on communicating this determination 
to his ministers, all gave their opinion against a defence. 
"This is enough," said Louis ; "this determines me. I will 
drive the emperor to the wall, and compel him to avow, in 
the face of all Europe, the secret of his policy towards Hol- 
land. I will put my son in my place. If the complaints 
against me be well founded, he will acknowledge the boy. 
If, on the contrary, he avails himself of my abdication to 
seize upon Holland, it will prove that all his accusations were 
merely attempts to pick a quarrel." 

He accordingly, on the 1st of July, abdicated in favor of 
his son. The act of abdication was, however, declared a 
nullity. Napoleon sent an aid-de-camp for the minor, and 
assigned him a dwelling in the park of St. Cloud ; and Hol- 
land was, in a fortnight after, formally united to the French 
empire. One who was with the emperor when he received 
the news of Louis's abdication states, that he never saw him 
so much struck with astonishment. He remained silent for a 
few minutes, and after a kind of momentary stupor, suddenly 
appeared to be greatly agitated. ''Was it possible," he 
exclaimed, "to suspect conduct so mischievous from the 
brother most indebted to me ? When I was a mere lieutenant 
of artillery, I brought him up with the scanty means afforded 
25* 



294 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

me : I divided my bread with Mm ; and this is the return he 
makes me I"^ 

Louis took his departure from Haarlem in the strictest in- 
cognito, proceeding to the baths of Tojplitz, in Bohemia. He 
then retired to Gratz, in Styria, taking the title of Count de 
St. Leu, a small estate he possessed near Paris. He left with 
his son the revenues of the month of June, taking with him 
only ten thousand florins, to defray the expenses of the 
journey, and his diamond decorations. By a decree of the 
French senate, an apanage of two million francs (80,000Z.) 
was settled on him and his family ; but as he considered the 
decree calculated to injure him in the esteem of the Dutch, 
he published a protest, expressive of his determination to 
refuse it. 

At Gratz Louis lived a retired life, endeavoring to re-estab- 
lish his health. On Napoleon's first reverse, and again after 
the battle of Leipsic, he made an attempt to recover the 
possession of his lost crown, and even thought of returning 
to Holland by way of Paris ; but he was not permitted to 
enter that city. He therefore retraced his steps to Switzer- 
land, and on arriving there found a letter from his brother, 
in which Napoleon admitted, that he would rather that Hol- 
land should return into the government of the Prince of 
Orange than to that of his brother. Louis next made a 
direct address to the magistrates of Amsterdam, but the 
Dutch paid no attention to his letter, and conferred the sove- 
reign power on the heir of their ancient stadtholders. 

Being now released from all obligations to his former 
subjects, Louis wished to retire to St. Leu for the remainder 
of his life. He reached Paris on the 1st of January, 1814 ; 
but Napoleon at first not only refused to see him, but ordered 
him to remove to the distance of forty leagues from Paris ; 
however, through the mediation of Maria Louisa, a meeting 
took place, which passed very coldly. He remained at or 



1 Memoires du Due de Rovigo. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 295 

near Paris till the 30th of March, when he attended tlie 
empress to Blois ; and after his brother's abdication, he 
retired, with the pope's permission, to Rome ; where he has 
ever since enjoyed that repose which he so much loves, and 
so well deserves. 

In 1808 Louis gave to the world a sentimental romance, 
called " Marie, ou les Peines de I'Amour," of which a second 
edition appeared in 1814, under the more attractive title of 
"Marie, ou les Hollandaises." 

His treatise entitled '' Documens Historiques, et Reflexions 
sur le Gouvernment de la Hollande," met with a better 
fate. Besides the English, Italian, and Grerman translations, 
four separate ones have been made into Dutch. It is a work 
of no literary pretensions, being merely an unpresuming 
account of his administration in Holland. It appears clear 
from it, that he ascended the throne with unfeigned reluctance, 
— under an influence amounting to little less than absolute 
duresse, — and, at the same time, with a settled determination 
not to be made an instrument of oppression. He certainly 
evinced some feebleness of mind, and a kind of willing decep- 
tion, in imagining that he could carry this system into effect ; 
but these are mere blemishes in an honorable and virtuous 
character. He found his reward in the respect and affection 
of his subjects, and his name continues to be mentioned 
among them with honor and regret. 

He has been blamed by the Duke of Rovigo and others 
for deserting a nation which did ample justice to his qualities, 
and had given proofs of fidelity and obedience to his service ; 
but De Bourrienne, on the other hand, maintains, that he could 
not have submitted to his brother's exorbitant demands with- 
out inducing the entire ruin of Holland.^ If Louis did not 
always effect the best that could possibly be done, it was, at 
least, his constant aim to do so ; his favorite maxim being 
th.e motto of his order — '*Doe wel en zie niet om." 

The following short anecdotes will show the spirit of mild- 

1 De Bourrienne, torn. viii. p. 255. 



296 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

ness by which his government was actuated. One of the 
persons abont him expressed his regret that Louis had not 
punished with severity a sort of revolt which took place at 
Rotterdam. ''It should have finished," said the person, 
"by hanging up some fifty of the ringleaders." "I chose 
rather to put an end to it by a letter," answered Louis with 
a smile. In the same spirit, he said to the Duke de Gazes, 
then his private secretary, '' For my part, I cannot see why 
bayonets should be employed to quell every petty tumult in a 
playhouse. To put an end to them, artificial shower-baths 
should be placed in the ceiling over the pit, to give it a 
sprinkling when too noisy. This would be far more suitable ; 
for there is a great deal of sportiveness in theatrical riots, and 
to punish them as crimes is to crush a fly with a rock. " This 
amiable and unambitious man died at Florence, in January, 
1846. 

No. XYI. 
Memoir of Hortense Beauharnois, Ex-queen of Holland.^ 

HoRTENSE Fanny de Beauharnois, the mother of Napo- 
leon III., was born at Paris on the 10th of April, 1783, at a 
period when the French nobility was still resplendent with that 
prosperity which was the reward of service done to the State, 
in arms or magistracy. Paris had not yet learned to gaze 
enviously upon this elevated class, then as pre-eminent by the 
elegance of its manners, as by the enjoyment of privileges to 
which it attached little importance. Every young girl of 
family could then, not perhaps aspire openly to the throne, 
but at least flatter herself with the belief of rising to it without 
diflaculty. Madame de Maintenon had shown that royal blood 
was not essential to the easy exercise of royal power. 

The history of childhood is rather the story of the family 
than of the infant. Hortense gave promise of wit, grace and 

» From the French of Count de la Garde. * 




■ Br jomrsMTMN ■ 



M © 1 T [E 



OF NAPOLEON III. 29T 

amiability, but the fond anticipations of maternal partiality 
were not realized until after a series of distressing calamities, 
of which some account may not be inappropriate. 

Her father, the Yicomte de Beauharnois, was a younger 
son of a noble and wealthy family of Martinique. He entered 
the army at an early age, and obtained distinction in several 
affairs as a major in the forces under Rochambeau, then fight- 
ing for the cause of American freedom. Upon his return to 
France, without disgracing the creed of liberty by any un- 
worthy action, he adhered to the principles he had defended, 
which perhaps had been prematurely developed by his 
American associations. He espoused with enthusiasm the 
doctrines of the revolution, and became a zealous advocate 
of the reform of abuses, and of a well regulated liberty. 

Kather a philosopher than a courtier, Beauharnois hailed 
with joy the dawn of that liberty in France, which he had 
seen resplendent in America. In 1789 he was deputed to the 
States-General by the noblesse of Blois, and was one of the 
first of his order who voted with the third estate. In the 
memorable nocturnal sitting of the 4th of August, he moved 
and carried the abolition of privileges, equal penalties for all 
classes of citizens, and universal eligibility to office. After 
having been secretary of the constituent assembly, he was 
appointed on the different military committees, from which he 
made several remarkable reports, on the organization of the 
National Guard ; the maintenance of discipline in the army ; 
and the means of protecting the country from military usurpa- 
tion. One of his most constant and active opponents was his 
brother, the Marquis de Beauharnois, who was also a member 
of the assembly, but belonged to the Cote droit. 

It is related by Mercier, in his Picture of Paris, that the 
vicomte took a prominent part in the preparations for the 
festival of the federation, celebrated in the Champ de Mars, 
on the 14th of July, 1190. He figured in the procession, 
harnessed to the same car with the Abbe Sieyes. 

Sincerely devoted to the true interests of his country, he 



298 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

warned the nobles that the time had come, when they must 
declare themselves ; that as yet, nothing was done for the 
people, who had many just causes of complaint, and that pru- 
dence alone could now avert bloodshed and save Louis XYI. 

Beauharnois was president of the National Assembly at 
the time of the king's flight, on the 21st of June, 1791. He 
displayed the true firmness of antiquity in announcing to the 
deputies this disastrous intelligence. " Gentlemen," said he, 
on taking the chair, " the king set out last night : let us proceed 
to the order of the day. " His dignity and presence of mind 
extorted admiration even from his enemies, and procured his 
re-election to the presidency on the ensuing 31st of July. At 
the close of the session, he joined the army of the north, with 
the rank of adjutant-general. His behavior at the rout of 
Mons, April 29th, It 92, was highly commended by Biron, 
then general-in-chief ; and in the beginning of August, the 
command of the camp at Soissons was entrusted to him by 
General Custine. After the memorable 10th of August, the 
army commissioners of the legislative assembly distinguished 
him as one of the generals who still continued in the service 
— faithful to their honor and their country. Two months 
afterwards he addressed a proclamation to the army of the 
Rhine, and in December his conduct was again made the 
theme of praise by Custine, and Sache the minister of war. 

On the 29th of May, 1193, he was proclaimed commander- 
in-chief of the army of the Rhine, and shortly afterwards he 
declined the ministry of war. The nobles were at this period 
wholly excluded from military employment, and Beauharnois, 
with a feeling of honorable pride, placed his resignation in 
the hands of the deputies of the convention. This they at 
first refused, but it was finally accepted on the 21st of August, 
with the usual order to retire to the distance of twenty leagues 
from the capital. Leaving General Landremont in command 
of the army, he took up his residence at the estate of Beau- 
harnois, near La Ferte Imbaut (Loir et Cher), which had 
been erected into a marquisate for his father. He had pre- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 299 

viously been the subject of several denunciations, which were 
answered in his "Observations on the Proscription of the 
Nobles," and had now scarcely reached his new abode before 
fresh accusations assailed him, to which he replied with the 
dignity of conscious innocence. All was in vain ; he was 
arrested and imprisoned in Paris. 

The court, as if impelled by an irresistible fatality, had 
afforded to republican insurrection the pretext of warlike in- 
vasion and foreign alliance. The Marquis de Beauharnois, 
brother of the vicomte, was one of those imprudent adherents 
of monarchy, who, by their blind devotion to their party, 
mainly contributed to the overflow of a torrent which no 
barrier could withstand. Wherever a government is exposed 
to sudden change, and the interests of relationship are 
mingled with political passions, it commonly happens that 
members of the same family espouse opposite parties. Thus 
in Scotland, during the last ceutury, nothing was more fre- 
quent than to see one nobleman a zealous Jacobite, while his 
son or brother remained a faithful adherent of the house of 
Brunswick. In every event of the contest, the family posses- 
sions were secured ; for natural feeling afforded an excellent 
pretext for the protection or pardon of the defeated. But the 
political opposition of the two Beauharnois was the result of 
no selfish calculation. Each was firmly convinced of the 
rectitude of his principles, and each underwent the severest 
punishment of consistency — the ingratitude of his party. The 
vicomte, after having shone with distinction in the constituent 
assembly, and commanded with honor the armies of the 
republic, perished on the scaffold on the 23d of July, in the 
thirty-fourth year of his age ; bequeathing to his childre-n a 
rich heritage of glory, worthy of the proud motto of their 
house — "Serve no further." In 1815, it was only by the 
heroic devotion of Madame Lavallette, that her husband, the 
son-in-law of the marquis, was rescued from a similar fate. 

The Yicomte de Beauharnois married in Martinique Jo- 
sephine Rose Tascher de la Pagerie ; a creole lady of distin- 



300 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

guished birth. Previous to her marriage, her attention was 
one day attracted by a group of slaves, collected around an 
old negro sybil, who was telling their fortunes. Josephine 
stopped ; and the hag no sooner perceived her new auditor, 
than, uttering a loud shriek, she seized her hand in the utmost 
agitation. "You must certainly discover something very 
striking in my appearance," said Josephine : " Well — shall 
my fortune be good or evil ?" "Both !" "I must confess, 
my good woman, that your predictions are quite vague enougV 
to run no risk of contradiction." The old woman raised hei 
eyes with a singular expression. "Come, come, " pursued 
Josephine, whose curiosity now began to be excited, " let ms 
know what is to be read in the story of the future !" "In 
the future — ah ! you will not believe me if I tell." " Oh, 
yes ! I promise you full credence, my good mother ; tell mi 
what I have to hope or fear." " If you insist on it — listen \ 
You will soon marry — your union will be unhappy — you will 
be left a widow. Then you will become queen of France ; you 
will have mighty armies at your feet ; but you will die in a 
revolution." On finishing this extraordinary prediction the 
old woman retreated with as much activity as her age per- 
mitted. 

Josephine prohibited her slaves from rallying the sybil on 
her "ridiculous prophecy." She made use of the apparent 
absurdity of the promise to prove to the young negresses her 
slender belief in its fulfilment, and it was treated merely as a 
subject for family merriment. In fact, there was little reason 
to imagine that a young West Indian girl could by any revo- 
lution be seated on the first throne in the world. Life and 
death in her native island, seemed the unchangeable destiny 
of Mademoiselle Tascher. She became the wife of the 
Yicorate de Beauharnois, and in 1Y80, gave birth to a son, 
afterwards Prince Eugene, viceroy of Italy. He was three 
years older than his sister Hortense. 

The cause of American emancipation was too popular in 
France, not to ensure an enthusiastic reception to the return- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 301 

ing officers who had aided it with their courage. To this 
recommendation, Beauharnois added a prepossessing exterior, 
agreeable accomplishments, and polished manners. The 
society of one so eminently qualified to shine was everywhere 
courted ; and with the natural facility of youth, he gave him- 
self up unreservedly to the seductions of the great world. 
Josephine, thus deserted by the man of her choice, resolved 
to seek consolation in the place of her birth, and commisera- 
tion in the sympathy of her family. She sailed for Martinique 
in 178T. 

Eugene remained with his father : his sister, then only three 
years old, accompanied her mother across the seas. The vessel 
ill which Madame Beauharnois had embarked, encountered a 
violent storm, and Hortense thus commenced a severe ap- 
prenticeship to the dangers arid misfortunes which afterwards 
so nearly balanced the glory of her brilliant career. In the 
convulsion of the elements, she might then have seen a fit 
emblem of that tempest of human passion of which her future 
destiny had marked her for the sport. 

It is beneath the burning sky of the Antilles that the influ- 
ence of the vertical sun is most strikingly felt, rendering the 
imagination more ardent, and communicating to the frame 
the captivating languor so characteristic of the Creoles. 
Hortense experienced its full efi'ects. Her infancy resembled 
that of the interesting Yirginia, so well described by St. 
Pierre in the episode to the Etudes de la Nature, a work 
which, for perfection of detail and splendor of coloring, 
seems to defy imitation. Hortense, compassionate and tender- 
liearted as Yirginia herself, was deeply shocked by the 
miseries of slavery, which, in her childish charity, she strove 
to alleviate Like her also, the constant object of maternal 
solicitude, she imbibed from the cares, the endearments and 
llie example of Josephine, the witching grace and captivating 
sensibility, which afterwards won every heart and rivetted 
unwavering affection. Thus she, who was one day to rule 
over subjects, was first the mistress of slaves; but Hortense 
26 



302 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

was ever humane and compassionate, though accustomed from 
her infancy to dominion. It is only when the hand of woman 
tempers the rigor of power, when her voice softens the evils 
of misgovernment, that the unfortunate forget the burthen of 
their chains, and contented with the illusion of liberty, sigh 
no longer for its lost reality. 

The effects of the French revolution in the colonies were 
proportioned to the violent passions of the inhabitants of 
sultry regions, and the deep hatred excited in the minds of 
the slaves by the tyranny of their masters. The tremendous 
explosion of St. Domingo reverberated through the Antilles. 
The existence of Hortense and her mother was frequently 
menaced by conflagration and the sword ; for the blacks per- 
secuted an entire race, and not individuals. Humanity, 
mildness, and benevolence were already associated with the 
name of Josephine, inspiring everywhere affection and respect. 
The simple annunciation, " I am Madame de Beauharnois — 
this is my daughter," was sufficient to disarm the violence of 
the assassins, and she was fortunately enabled to reach a sea- 
port and embark for France. Evils of still greater magni- 
tude awaited her return, and made a deep impression on the 
mind of Hortense. She soon learned that there is but a 
single step from power to servitude, from happiness to misfor- 
tune. This first lesson of adversity was not given in vain ; 
and, notwithstanding its severity, it was neither the last nor 
the least painful she was destined to endure. 

The ardent attachment of the vicomte to the principles of 
the revolution had never cooled for an instant, but a new and 
more determined faction had overthrown all its rivals, and 
was now in full possession of power. Beauharnois was im- 
prisoned ; for the advocates of moderation and the partisans 
of ancient privileges were equally obnoxious to gloomy 
fanaticism. His wife, losing all remembrance of former 
wrongs, was only sensible of his misfortunes. To love and 
believe, to suffer and forgive — such is female life. She used 
every exertion to relieve his situation. Inconstancy had 



OF NAPOLEON III. 303 

wounded her feelings, but she had never ceased to love her 
husband ; and her truth was displayed, when, without advan- 
tage to him, it could only involve her in his fate. Beauharnois 
was much moved by this generous conduct, and in several 
affecting letters, written when no hope remained of escaping 
the scaffold, he warmly commended his children to her care. 

Josephine, becoming in her turn an object of suspicion, 
was also confined. Up to this time she had scarcely bestowed 
a thought upon the fortune-teller of Martinique ; but now, by 
a common inconsistency of human nature, the prediction 
recurred to her remembrance amid the gloom of a prison. 
Her mind became accustomed to dwell upon its promises, and 
she ended by a firm belief in its easy accomplishment. 

One morning the jailor entered the cell, which she occupied 
in common with the Duchess of Aiguillon, afterwards Madame 
Louis de Girardin>) and two other ladies, and announced 
abruptly, that he came to remove her bed, which was wanted 
for another prisoner. " Of course," said Madame D 'Aiguil- 
lon, with vivacity, "Madame de Beauharnois is to be pro- 
vided with a better ?" The keeper answered savagely, 
" There will be little need of that, as she is to go at once to 
the Conciergerie, and thence to the guillotine." This cruel 
warning drew loud shrieks from her companions in misfortune, 
but Josephine attempted the task of consolation. At length 
she begged them earnestly to calm all their fears, as she was 
assured, not only of present safety, but of living and reigning 
the queen of France. "It is a pity that you don't appoint 
your attendants," cried Madame D'Aiguillon, angrily. "Ah ! 
that is very true — I had forgotten. Well, my dear, you shall 
be one of my ladies of honor : come — you have my promise." 
At these words her companions burst into tears ; for they 
could account for the ill-timed pleasantry only by supposing 
that she had lost her senses. 

Madame D'Aiguillon was much overcome. Josephine led 
her towards a window, which she threw open to give her air. 
A woman of ordinary appearance was noticed below, who 



804 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

seemed to be making some extraordinary signals. She shook 
her dress {rohe) violently, a gesture which at first was inex- 
plicable. At length Josephine cried out " Robe," the woman 
nodded, and immediately seizing a pebble (pierre) recom- 
menced her gestures. Josephine again cried "Pierre," and 
the woman, apparently much gratified, again expressed assent. 
Then placing her gown and the pebble together, she repre- 
sented the motion of cutting a throat, dancing and clapping 
her hands at the same time, with great glee. It would be 
impossible to describe the joy with which the captives ven- 
tured to hope that the death of Rohespierre was thus an- 
nounced to them. 

While they were still divided between hope and fear, a dis- 
turbance in the gallery attracted their attention, and they 
presently distinguished the rough voice of their turnkey, who 
was kicking his dog and crying out, " Get along, you damned 
Robespierre !" This energetic expression assured our ladies 
that there was little to apprehend, and that France was saved. 
In fact, a short time afterwards, their companions in misfor- 
tune burst into the cell to communicate the tidings of the 
great events of the 9th Thermidor. " Well, " said Josephine, 
as her bed was returned, "you see I am not destined to be 
guillotined. I shall certainly be queen of France." 

We may pardon the youthful Hortense for anticipating the 
future completion of a prophecy, which she thus saw partially 
accomplished, in the preservation of her mother when destruc- 
tion had appeared inevitable. The superior intelligence of 
Josephine could not have placed its firm reliance on such a 
fallacy ; though reason and imagination have but slender con- 
nection in the mind of a Creole. Perhaps she may have 
entertained hope of its fulfilment, at the very time that she 
treated the prediction with the greatest ridicule. It is in this 
way that we may explain an intimacy (which was, however, 
much exaggerated) with a fortune-teller, who at least has 
evinced a constant and grateful remembrance of the favors 
received. 



OF NAPOLEON III. g05 

But what was the impression made upon the mind of Hor- 
tense by the promise of so brilliant a future ? More than 
once she made it the foundation of those pleasing dreams, 
which are courted with equal eagerness by childhood, the 
flower of life, and age itself. Happier, doubtless, would she 
have been, had destiny reserved for her a fortune less brilliant 
or less unequal ; and if she had felt in the morning of her 

years all the truth of the wise motto she afterwards adopted 

'' Little known, little troubled" (peu conne, pen trouhUe)} 

After her liberation, Josephine became extremely intimate 
with Madame Tallien,^ at whose house she met Barras. To 



* "On reaching home, I found your new romance. I think it very 
pretty; and although accustomed to agreeable things from you, I am 
not the less struck with your facility in composing good verses. Who- 
ever told you my motto, has changed it a little. 'Less known, less 
troubled,' is the one I chose long ago, because it is so well suited to a 
woman. In prosperous days, my friends used to add, ' More known, 
more loved;' they knew my only ambition, and wished to make me 
think that I really possessed what I most desired. Perhaps they think 
no more about it now, so that my first motto is, after all, the only one 
that befits me. 

" So, you have been exhibiting my letters ! Were we better acquainted, 
we should certainly fall out, but you ought to be excused for this fault. 
as you had mistaken my motto. I had seriously resolved not to write 
you another line. I neither choose to be praised for what I write, nor 
to be read by those to whom I have never written. My mind changed 
in the course of the excursion, for they told me that all the world had 
not dealt kindly by you, and I do not choose to resemble all the world: 
on the contrary, the ill will of others only increases my interest in your 
behalf. I shall begin a collection of mottoes for new romances, without 
the least fear of imposing on your good nature : I see you have a great 

deal, and I am pleased to tell you how much you have obliged me." 

Letter from Hortense. 

2 Mademoiselle Tabarus, the daughter of a Spanish banker, and one 
of the most beautiful women of her day, married Tallien to save her 
father's life from the condemnation of a revolutionary tribunal. On the 
8th Fructidor, several deputies, included in the proscription list of 
Robespierre, agreed to attack him in the convention. Tallien, at whose 
house they had assembled, seeing them falter in their resolution, 
26* U 



306 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

the patronage of the latter, who became shortly afterwards 
the head of the directory, she was indebted for the restoration 
of a part of her fortune. 

During the imprisonment of Hortense's parents one of Jo- 
sephine's friends, the Princess of Hohenzollern, was struck 
with compassion for the destitute condition of the two young 
Beauharnais. As her residence in Paris was rendered dan- 
gerous by proscription, she proposed to carry them with her, 
into Germany. This design was found impracticable : the 
princess set out alone, and the unfortunate children remained 
in Paris, with no other protection than that of an old nurse. 
The cares of education could be little attended to, when even 
the means of existence were of difficult attainment. The 
labors of the nurse were soon found insufficient for the main- 
tenance of three persons ; but Hortense, though still very 
young, evinced that energy of character, which, in after life, 
was so useful in enabling her to support adversity. Both she 
and her brother determined to labor for their common liveli- 
hood. Eugene hired himself to a joiner, and Hortense went 
to a mantuamaker's. Her patience under every privation, 
showed how deeply rooted were those principles of perseve- 
rance and resignation, which had been so sedulously and suc- 
cessfully inculcated by her excellent mother. 

The liberation of Josephine was the means of restoring her 
daughter to comfort and to her studies. She was placed at 
a boarding-school at St. Germain ; which, though but recently 
opened, had already acquired a well-deserved reputation. 
The sense, talent, and purity of principle of Madame Campan, 

addressed them thus : ' Cowards ! since you hesitate to deliver France 
from a monster, I am determined that you shall never live to witness 
the destruction of your country. I go this instant to denounce your 
treason.' The deputies were electrified ; resolution was restored, and 
France was saved. The next day, Robespierre, condemned as soon as 
accused, perished by the guillotine. Madame Tallien is now married 
to the Prince of Chimay. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 30T 

the head of the establishment, were sufficient to ensure its 
complete success.^ 

The conspicuous services rendered by Madame Campan, 
under the empire, in the field of education, have created for 
her the most solid claims to public esteem. She possessed 
every requisite for forming the mind, the heart, and the man- 
ners of youth. On the last, she could bestow the polished 
urbanity of the old court, where her superior talents and 
knowledge had obtained honorable notice. At the age of 
fifteen, she had been appointed reader to the daughter of 
Louis XY. ; and Marie Antoinette shortly afterwards attached 
her more immediately to her own person, by promoting a 
marriage with her private secretary. Ruined like so many 
others, by the revolution, she determined, after the 9th Ther- 
midor, to turn her talents to account by opening a boarding- 
school. In a short time, the reputation of St. Germain 
rivalled the ancient renown of the establishment of St, Cyr, 
founded by Madame de Maintenon. Every distinguished 
personage of the day was sure to have a relative under the 
care of Madame Campan, and some of her scholars after- 
wards rose to royalty. Even the amusements of St. Germain 
yielded in nothing to those of St. Cyr ; for though the former 
could boast no Racine as its religious laureate, yet the young 
and gifted pupils alternately performed his Esther and 
Athalie — the great master-pieces of the French drama. If 
they were not honored by the presence of Louis le Grand, 
their audience was composed of that crowd of young soldiers 
who already gave lustre to the arms of France, and their 
judge was he whose name was but another name for victory, 

1 After the battle of Austerlitz, Madame Campan was appointed by 
Napoleon to supeinntend the school at Ecouen, where she remained 
until its suppression at the restoration of the Bourbons. She then re- 
tired to Nantes, where she died ou the 16th of March, 1822. In her 
last moments, she displayed the calmness of a sage, and the pious hope 
of a sincere Christian. 



308 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

and whose exertions promised the restoration of its depressed 
arts to his suffering country. 

Among the companions of Hortense at Madame Campan's, 
were her cousin Stephanie, afterwards Grand Dutchess of 
Baden — Caroline Bonaparte, the future Queen of Naples, and 
several others, both relatives and connections by her mother's 
second marriage. But in forming one of those friendships 
of childhood, which become almost a part of our nature and 
seldom end but with life, Hortense was guided neither by the 
ties of blood, nor the pride of rank. The person to whom 
she became most attached was not a relation, nor was she 
destined to royalty. A niece of Madame Campan — Adele 
Auguie, afterwards Madame de Broc — became her constant 
and faithful attendant. She followed Hortense on her de- 
parture from St. Germain, and remained with her until their 
friendship was severed by death. 

Notwithstanding the apparent equality of all the boarders, 
it was almost impossible to prevent the relatives of him who 
ruled France and dictated to Europe, from being spoiled by 
their companions and their mistress. At the same time, the 
care bestowed by Madame Campan on the education of Hor- 
tense, was far from being lost. This sagacious instructress 
delighted to repeat that ''talents were the wealth of the rich 
and the ornament of the poor." Her pupil — besides ac- 
quiring the general branches of education — excelled in all the 
agreeable accomplishments, and the success of her debut in 
society fully justified the truth of the favorite maxim. The 
following valuable letter shows how completely Josephine had 
retained in the midst of grandeur, her native modesty, sim- 
plicity and justness of principle. 

To Madame de Campan — St. Germain. 

" In returning you my niece, my dear Madame Campan, I 
send you both thanks and reproof — thanks, for the, brilliant 
education you have given her, and reproof for the faults which 
your acuteness must have noticed, but which your indulgence 



OF NAPOLEON III. 309: 

has passed over. She is Q:ood tempered, but cold ; well 
informed, but disdainful ; lively, but deficient in judgment. 
She pleases nobody and it gives her no pain. She fancies 
the renown of her uncle and the gallantry of her father are 
everything. Teach her ; but teach her plainly, without 
mincing, that in reality they are nothing. We live in an age 
when every one is the child of his own deeds ; and if they 
who fill the highest ranks of public service enjoy any superior 
advantage or privilege, it is the opportunity of being more 
useful and more beloved. It is thus alone that good fortune 
becomes pardonable in the eyes of the envious. Tliis is what 
I would have you repeat to her constantly. I wish her to 
treat all her companions as her equals : many of them are 
better, or at least quite as deserving as she is herself, and 
their only inferiority is in not having had relations equally 
skilful or equally fortunate. 

"Josephine Bonaparte." 

But the new signature of the mother of Hortense reminds 
us that we have somewhat anticipated events — let us resume 
our narrative. 

We have already mentioned Barras and Tallien as friends 
of Madame de Beauharnois. Bonaparte, then a general 
officer, also belonged to their circle, and his feelings were 
excited towards Josephine by the following occurrence^. A 
general disarming of the people was one of the chief precau- 
tionary measures of police, undertaken after the insurrection 
of Yendemiaire, and entrusted to him for execution, in his 
capacity of commander in chief of the army of the interior. 
One day his aid-de-camp, Lemarrois, introduced a boy of 
fourteen, who earnestly begged the return of a sword seized 
by the police : it had been the weapon of his father, once in 
the chief command of the forces of the republic, and it seemed 
an act of ingratitude thus to deprive a son of the last relic 
of an unfortunate and respected parent. The sword was 
returned, and on seeing it, the boy burst into tears. The 



310 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

firmness, enthusiasm, graceful manners, and filial affection of 
the young Eugene, for it was he, excited a lively interest in 
Bonaparte, and induced him to mention the occurrence to 
Barras, at an evening party. Madame Beauharnois appeared 
shortly afterwards, and Bonaparte congratulated her on pos- 
sessing so interesting a son. Before the end of the evening, 
he became convinced that Josephine was worthy of being the 
mother of Eugene : the intimacy thus begun, gave rise to a 
mutual attachment, which increased every day, and soon 
terminated in marriage. This was in 1*796. Bonaparte set 
out for his memorable campaign of Italy, and subsequently 
embarked for Egypt. After the latter expedition the whole 
family was reunited, for Hortense, then about seventeen, fre- 
quently left her boarding-school to pay long visits to Paris. 

On his arrival at the capital, Bonaparte resumed the same 
laborious and secluded manner of life which he had led on 
returning from Rastadt — appearing but little in public ; 
always occupying a latticed box at the theatre ; frequenting 
none but literary society, and never dining with the directors, 
except in private. He found it, indeed, impossible to decline 
the public dinner given to him by the legislative councils in 
the Temple of Yictory (St. Sulpice) ; but he only remained 
an hour, and quitte-d the entertainment in company with 
Moreau. This retirement, which appeared a necessary relaxa- 
tion from his labors in the service of the State, was universally 
respected. The resumption of habits which had ever distin- 
guished important epochs in his career, was attributed by 
many to deep designs for restoring the dignity of the nation, 
and for alleviating the public distress. 

The conspiracies against the directory had now become 
universal. On all sides, Bonaparte was entreated to place 
himself at the head, not of a rebellion, but of a revolution. 
He was even made the confidant of the various schemes and 
designs which divided the members of the government, for 
there were plots among the directors themselves. The posi- 
tion of the different factions may be thus described. Augereau 



OF NAPOLEON III. 311 

and Bernadotte, representing the radicals of the Manhge, 
offered to place him at the head of the republic. Others 
again, proposed the overthrow both of the directory and the 
manege. Among these was Fouche, who had broken with 
the latter ; and who, though a member of the ministry, had 
commenced the same game which he afterwards continued to 
play with all the successive governments. Bonaparte was 
also exposed to the flatteries of another minister, who, if his 
conduct has partaken too much of the rapid versatility of the 
events, in which for forty years he has taken such active part, 
at least offers some atonement by all the personal superiority 
that genius and profound knowledge can bestow on a states- 
man. Such has been the ascendency of his distinguished 
merit, that every new dynasty has paid to it the tribute of 
official employment. Influencing the diplomacy of Europe 
for many years; moving all the wires at pleasure; directing 
in secret every spring, he thus became indispensable to the 
ambitious ; who, after seizing the supreme power, availed 
themselves of his experience to retain their elevation. 

Among the directors themselves, discord was at its height ; 
and they intrigued separately with Bonaparte for the destruc- 
tion of their joint power. Sieyes, with many members of the 
council of ancients, solicited him to head the moderate party, 
who were to establish a constitution which he had prepared 
in secret. Roger Ducos was the mere shadow of Sieyes, and 
his constant concurrence with his colleague might be taken 
for granted. Barras, Moulins, and Gohier, were all desirous 
that Bonaparte should resume the command of the army of 
Italy : the first, in order to withdraw him from politics ; the 
others, merely to employ him as the military engine of their 
power. They were not aware that the times of the 18th 
Fructidor had gone by. These plots were generally known : 
the most formidable was still a secret. 

Bonaparte's counsellors in the present critical position of 
his afiairs, were all men of talents and experience, such ns 
Cambaceres, Roederer, Real, and Regnault de St. Jean 



312 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

d'Angelej. Sieyes, a Provengal and an old acquaintance of 
the ambitious general, was the only director who possessed 
any share of his confidence, and in fact, was the only one who 
deserved it. As for Barras and Moulins, he had long known 
how to appreciate them. 

On the 8th of Brumaire, Bonaparte dined with Barras, 

who communicated to him in pretended confidence, his deter- 
mination to retire from the head of aff'airs. The chief director 
explained the necessity of adopting another form of govern- 
ment for France, and of selecting General Hedouville as the 
only proper president of the republic. As for Bonaparte, he 
proposed to place him at the head of a French army, with 
which he should conquer the old Cisalpine commonwealth, 
and retain its sovereignty for his own private profit. It was 
clear that the name of Hedouville was a mere cover for that 
of Barras himself, and Bonaparte, by a single glance, gave 
him to understand that the design was perfectly comprehended. 
On quitting the director, the general sought out Sieyes, to 
whom his own plan of revolution was exhibited. They were 
soon agreed, and the execution of their project was arranged 
for some period between the 15th and 20th of Brumaire. 

The news of this conference with his colleague soon reached 
Barras, and it produced a visit to Bonaparte early next morn- 
ing, in which the confidence of the preceding day was renewed, 
and the blame of the weakness of his plans laid on the im- 
potence of the government. He concluded by declaring that 
he threw himself on the mercy of the only man who could 
save his country. Bonaparte was much less open in his ex- 
planations : he disclaimed all right to this title, and alleged 
that the restoration of his health and the tranquillity of 
repose, were all that he desired. It was about this time that 
Sieyes commenced taking lessons in riding : a piece of news 
which amused the gossips of Paris, and especially Barras, 
who took great delight in watching from his window the new 
gymnastics of his grave colleague. 

In the mean time, the garrison of Paris, which had served 



OF NAPOLEON III. 313 

in Italy up to the 13th of Yendemiaire — the forty-eight 
acljutauts of the National Guard, who had been appointed 
by Bonaparte after that epoch — and General Moreau, com- 
mandant of the capital, had united in a request to be pre- 
sented to Napoleon and afterwards reviewed. The ceremony 
was deferred from day to day. At length, on the 15th, 
Bonaparte and Sieyes had a last decisive interview : the plan 
of revolution was definitely settled, and its execution appointed 
for the 18th. 

Early on the Itth the commandant of Paris, the regiments 
of the garrison, and the adjutants of the sections, were 
requested to attend at Bonaparte's residence in the Rue 
Chantereine, at seven in the morning of the succeeding day. 
As this visit had been long arranged, no importance was 
attached to it. The various officers on whom any reliance 
could be placed, were also invited for the same hour. All of 
these individuals, firmly impressed with the popular belief in 
the immediate departure of the general for the army of Italy, 
imagined that they were only to receive orders relative to this 
subject. Neither Moreau nor Macdonald had directly solicited 
any participation in the arrangements of the plot, of which 
the existence alone had been confided to them ; but they had 
offered to assist its execution, and, with General Lefevre, the 
commandant of the division, were invited to the rendezvous 
in the Rue Chantereine. All arrived at the appointed time : 
Bernadotte was brought by Joseph Bonaparte. At half past 
eight a messenger appeared from the council of ancients, 
bearing a decree passed by the influence of Sieyes and his 
cabal. It was the first manifesto of the revolution, and con- 
ferred the supreme military command on Bonaparte. Imme- 
diate use was made of the new power, by intrusting all the 
important parts of the capital to his adherents. Thus the 
directors, who were ignorant of all these events until about 
ten o'clock, found themselves, in one moment, without power, 
without protection, and deprived of all confidence in the 
council, the commander-in-chief, and the army. In this 
27 



314 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

emergency, Moulins proposed to Barras and Gohier, to have 
Bonaparte instantly arrested and shot ; but he changed his 
mind when the Luxembourg was surrounded by a strong 
guard. He then, along with Gohier, sent in his resignation, 
and with him was confined in the palace of the government ; 
from which, however, he succeded in making his escape. 
Barras obtained a safe conduct, and a detachment to escort 
him to Gros Bois. Thus ended the Directory. On the suc- 
ceeding day, the famous scene occurred at the Orangerie of 
St. Cloud ; when Bonaparte, seconded by the firmness and 
presence of mind of his brother Lucien, as well as by the 
bayonets of his grenadiers, succeeded in dissolving the council 
of five hundred, and shutting up their place of meeting. 

After the 18th of Brumaire, Bonaparte and his family 
resided at the Tuilleries. Here the mild graces of Hortense 
appeared to great advantage, contrasted v/ith the glittering 
display of a new court, alive with the stir of military glory. 
She was courted by the richest and noblest of France, and 
had now full scope for the indulgence of those pleasing 
anticipations of a future which so rarely falls out according 
to our hopes or our fears. But France, under the sway of 
the first consul, was mightier than the France of the old 
monarchy : w^ho might then aspire to the honor of alliance 
with its sovereign ? The sad destiny of princesses — the obli- 
gation of loving according to political necessity — must have 
appeared to Hortense a heavy drawback upon all her gran- 
deur. Girls of seventeen are not long in feeling that they 
possess an eye and a heart, and can conceive no other motive 
for matrimony than affection. Before this last revolution, the 
fortune of her adopted father, which, M^hether in prosperity 
or evil, ever moved with the strides of a giant, had not 
attained so high an elevation as to give Hortense reason to 
fear constraint on her inclinations. At her time of life, fancy 
presents everything through a false medium, which nothing 
but experience can remove : but the motions of reason are 



OF NAPOLEON III. 315 

slow, and she is sometimes too late in destroying the illusion 
and displaying the mortifying reality. 

Before etiquette had changed the drawing-room of Madame 
Bonaparte into the brilliant hall of a sovereign, it was the 
resort of the highest Parisian society : a class which, at this 
time, presented some curious contrasts of character and situa- 
tion. Around General Bonaparte were, of course, assembled 
the men of high military rank, and the chief public function- 
aries of the directory — all more or less decided jacobins, with 
whom it was yet necessary to preserve a good understanding. 
Josephine, on the other hand, was the centre of a circle com- 
posed of the courtiers of the old monarchy, who more or less 
openly regretted the ancient order of things. You might see 
a returned emigrant, still nominally under sentence of death, 
seated next to a member of the very convention which had 
pronounced that sentence : while further on, a royalist leader, 
secretly jealous of the renown of the soldier and the power 
of the civilian, concealed his envy under an affectation of 
contempt. The perfect good breeding of Madame Bonaparte, 
with the grave and imposing carriage of her husband, har- 
monized all these various incongruities. 

Hortense frequently made her appearance in the drawing- 
room, and according to court gossip, was much struck with 
an individual conspicuous for all the qualities most admired 
by very young ladies — a dashing reputation, a fine figure, 
and bold yet polished manners. This personage was M. de 
Paulo, a royalist of extravagant enthusiasm, who was said to 
have excited an insurrection of the peasantry in the vicinity 
of Toulouse. His good mien, his cast of character, and 
especially his misfortunes, were found irresistible by Made- 
moiselle Beauharnois, and even Josephine was so far led 
away, as to allow some talk of marriage ! But the bombast 
and vanity of young Paulo were by no means to the taste of 
the first consul, who exiled him forthwith to Languedoc. 

In the eyes of a girl of seventeen, faults of this description 
are seldom unpardonable in an admirer, especially when 



316 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

accompanied by striking qualities. If Paulo had been loved 
before for the dangers he had run, he became even more inter- 
esting when persecuted in the cause of love. Hortense had 
been duly impressed with tales of the glories of the old mon- 
archy, under which her ancestors had played so distinguished 
a part, and her mind was filled with descriptions of those 
gallant, graceful, and polished nobles, who are only to be 
found in the atmosphere of a court. De Paulo seemed in 
some measure to realize these fancies. The throne had fallen, 
but he was still loyal. Fidelity in misfortune gave him a 
melancholy interest, and inspired that kind of enthusiasm 
always displayed by women towards those who suffer for the 
sake of principle. His exile gave the last touch of the pic- 
ture, by adding the mellowing effects of absence to the 
attractions of adversity and first love. 

Hortense never saw Paulo again. Even if they had met 
in after life, there can be no question but that her ripened 
judgment and correct good sense would have confirmed the 
decision of the consul.. We may, however, be allowed to 
fancy that the remembrance of her lover, such as he first ap- 
peared to her imagination, sometimes recurred to her memory ; 
and that this phantom of childish romance perhaps disturbed 
the pomps of royalty, and increased the melancholy monotony 
of grandeur. 

State policy had broken off one marriage — State policy 
now arranged another. In uniting their own fortunes. Napo- 
leon and Josephine seemed to have tacitly agreed to work in 
concert for the advancement of their families. One of the 
most certain and expeditious modes of forwarding this design, 
was to promote as many mutual alliances as could possibly be 
effected. The consul looked upon Louis Bonaparte, whom 
he had brought up, rather in the light of a son than a bro- 
ther : on her side, Josephine was particularly anxious to 
unite him to her daughter, and they were accordingly married 
in the month of January, 1802. 

Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon's third brother, born at Ajaccio, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 317 

the 2d of September, 1778, entered the army at an early age, 
and served in the famous campaigns of Italy and Egypt. 
Several of his letters from the latter country were intercepted 
and published by the English. They are everywhere filled 
with the sound philosophy and love of mankind which may 
be called the basis of his character. The indiiinant distress 
excited in his heart by the cruelties and calamities of warfare, 
are especially remarkable. He quitted Egypt on the 14th 
of March, 1799, and returned to France, bearing despatches 
from his brother to the directory. 

After Brumaire, when Napoleon had become first consul, 
Louis was appointed on a diplomatic mission to St. Peters- 
burg : but the violent death of the Emperor Paul induced 
him to stop at Berlin, where he remained nearly a year. On 
his return to Paris, he received the command of the 9th regi- 
ment of dragoons, and was shortly afterwards appointed 
general of brigade. It was at this period that his union with 
Hortense took place. 

Had the choice of these parties been unfettered, each pos- 
sessed qualities which might have produced a mutual attach- 
ment : but the desire of happiness was exchanged for a 
submission to necessity, and objects present a very different 
appearance when regarded from opposite points of view. The 
character of Louis was the reverse of that of Hortense. A 
great moralist has remarked that this was the best reason for 
expecting future sympathy ; but it frequently happens that 
the same wheels, which by properly meeting would accomplish 
all the objects of the mechanic, clash and crush each other by 
an untimely revolution. 

The newly-married couple treated their union as the work 
of compulsion, and their little asperities instead of being 
smoothed by gentle friction, were in constant collision. Louis 
had some romance in his disposition, but it was that kind of 
romance which leads its possessor rather to write a book than 
to enact the hero. Tlie Contrat Social of Rousseau was the 
favorite study of one, whose duty it became to assist in the 
27* 



318 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

overthrow of his country's liberties, and who was doomed one 
day to be a king. Louis was enthusiastically devoted to 
visions of universal peace, and yet fate had condemned hira 
to be a soldier. He hated ceremony, and yet his life was 
spent in a court, and his motions were a perpetual pageant. 
Preferring retirement and speculative reflection, he was 
hurried along by the whirlwind of his brother's genius. 

Cottages and shepherdesses we may fancy as the subjects 
of the love dreams of Louis. It was impossible to imagine 
more sweetness, benevolence, and simplicity of taste, than 
were to be found united in the character of Hortense ; but 
she added the qualities befitting a queen, and her superior 
mind was prepared for every change of fortune. She pos- 
sessed a quick and decided temper, a strong intellect, and a 
considerable share of ambition : but her chief desire was that 
which forms the most ardent wish of every wife, and especially 
of every queen — that the renown of her husband should 
elevate and gratify her pride. Louis' military career had not 
been without distinction : his literary productions were ad- 
mired throughout Europe, for their humane and correct 
principles : his family name had become the proudest in 
history — but he was the brother of Napoleon, and every 
minor light was dimmed by the sun of his glory. 

Both were therefore far from looking forward to marriagQ, 
with that expectation of happiness which many feel so sensi- 
bly at the moment of union. Their gloom was the more 
observed, because the domestic incidents in the first consul's 
family, had already assumed the importance of political 
events. The ambassadors of the various powers were all 
present at a grand ball given by Madame de Montesson in 
honor of these nuptials : and thus a Bourbon's widow acted 
as mistress of ceremonies to the chief of the republic. Napo- 
leon, accustomed to domineer over fortune, and seemingly 
careless of petty incongruities, perhaps sometimes felt a secret 
satisfaction in producing the singularity of such contrasts. 

The new husband was at least resolved to assert his inde- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 319 

pendence as far as it lay in his power. The first consul 
oifered to adopt the eldest son, which at that period was 
equivalent to the gift of a monarchy. Louis could not oppose 
the advancement of his child, but he ventured to refuse his 
consent to the formality of an adoption. When Napoleon 
became emperor, all his brothers were named as possible suc- 
cessors to the imperial crown. In the mean time the most 
splendid dignities of the empire were conferred on Louis ; he 
appeared at the coronation as constable of France — he was 
recognized as a prince of the blood — appointed colonel — 
general of carbineers — governor of Piedmont, and governor 
of Paris. His second son was christened by the pope, who 
had come to Paris to anoint the emperor with the holy oil. 

It was at this brilliant period of Hortense's life, that the 
fine collection of romances appeared, which has ranked her 
among the most tasteful of our musical composers. The 
saloons of Paris — the solitude of exile ^ — the most remote 
countries — have all acknowledged the charm of these delight- 
ful melodies, which need no royal name to enhance their 
reputation. It is gratifying to our pride of country, to hear 
these airs of France sung by the Greek and the Russian, and 
united to national poetry on the banks of the Thames and the 
Tagus. The homage thus rendered is the more flattering, 
because the rank of the composer is usually unknown. It is 
their intrinsic merit which gives to these natural effusions of 
female sensibility the power of universal success. If Hortense 
ever experienced matrimonial felicity, it must have been at 
this time. The union blessed with children seems sanctioned 
by Providence. Hortense had already two sons, and thus 
maternal tenderness, conjugal anxiety, and the pride of a 

1 When Madame de Stael and her beautiful friend Madame llecaraier, 
were exiled to the old castle of Chaumont-s^^r-Loi^, formerly the resi- 
dence of Diana of Poictiers, one of their favorite songs was that fine 
air composed by the queen of Holland, which has for its burthen her 
husband's motto — " Fais ce que dois — advienne que pourra." — (Do 
well, come what may). — Te?i Years of Exile, by Bladame de Stael, p. 112. 



320 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

princess, were all gratified in their fullest extent. Everything 
around her appeared to reflect glory, renown, and happiness. 
Josephine was seated on the first throne in the world : Eugene 
reigned as a viceroy at Milan ; while the head of this exalted 
family, a king of kings, could bestow on his brothers the 
monarchies raised by his military genius, and consolidated by 
his political talents. The brows of Hortense seemed destined 
for a diadem : Napoleon willed it, and Louis became king of 
Holland. 

In the year 1805, Schimmelpeninck had been invested with 
the whole executive power of the Batavian republic, under 
the title of grand pensionary. He was properly impressed 
with the magnitude of the favor received, and promised to 
prove his gratitude. Unfortunately his views of policy were 
soon found to be in direct opposition to those of Napoleon. 
The grand pensionary encouraged the trade with England, 
and the commercial speculations of the Dutch were enormously 
profitable, from the almost entire prohibition of English manu- 
factures throughout Europe. This connection with the swora 
enemy of France, and Schimmelpeninck's subsequent loss of 
sight, furnished sufficient excuses for the emperor's intended 
change in the government of Holland, and the Batavian 
republic was erected into a monarchy. In May, 1806, a 
deputation consisting of Yice-Admiral Verhuel, Bracdzen, 
ambassador at Paris, Van Styreau, minister of their high 
mightinesses, Gogel, minister of finance, and W. Six, coun- 
cillor of State, offered the crown to Louis in behalf of the 
republic ; and on the 5th of June the emperor, at St. Cloud, 
proclaimed him king of Holland, continuing at the same 
time his former office of constable of France. 

The first offer of the throne was met by an absolute refusal 
on the part of Louis ; who declared the climate of Holland 
entirely unsuited to his weak state of health. This reply was 
bvno means conclusive : there were other kingdoms, less cold 
and less humid, at the disposal of Napoleon, and in his eyes, 
the resolution of his brother appeared too extraordinary to 



OF NAPOLEON III. 321 

be immovable. It would have proved so, however, had not 
the will of the emperor been the law. Lonis would have 
preferred a life of seclusion : " It is better to die a king," 
was the laconic answer of Napoleon. The danger was by no 
means so imminent as Louis would have wished it to appear : 
the constitution of the new monarch was, however, extremely 
delicate, and bodily weakness increased the natural gloom of 
his sombre and melancholy temperament. If the refusal was 
dictated by pure philosophy, we cannot but admire it, even 
if our own feelings disable us from imitation. In the peculiar 
circumstances under which Louis and Hortense were placed, 
they were partners in fortune as well as in happiness. Napo- 
leon was as anxious to bestow a crown upon his adopted 
daughter, as a sceptre on his brother. If Louis adhered to 
his resolution, it was, on the part of Hortense, a sort of ab- 
dication, unless the Salic law, so venerated in France, were 
abolished in Holland. The chance of becoming a king, 
might therefore be considered as a part of their marriage 
contract. The force of this reasoning was at length under- 
stood by Louis, and he abandoned this unjust opposition. 

In the midst of the enjoyment of new dignity, and of 
benevolent plans for the future welfare of her subjects, the 
happiness of Hortense was clouded by the necessary separa- 
tion from her mother and her home. It was the first severance 
for any length of time, which had occurred during her whole 
life. The prospect of departure from the scenes of infancy 
now revived all her childish feelings and attachments, and 
the pain thus created divided her heart with the anticipation 
of future grandeur. She wished at least, to bid adieu to 
France in a manner worthy of a kind and compassionate 
princess. She learned that Madame de Gevres,^ a noble lady 
of the court of Louis XYL, ruined by the revolution, had 
fruitlessly endeavored to obtain permission to revisit the place 

^ The last descendant of the celebrated De Guesclin. She died in 
1831, at an advanced age. 



322 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

of her birth. Hortense could now feelingly appreciate this 
patriotic attachment : she solicited and obtained from the 
emperor, the recall of Madame de Gevres, and her farewell 
to her country was thus commemorated by another deed of 
heavenly charity. 

On the 18th of June, 1806, Louis and his queen arrived in 
their new dominions. They took up their residence at the 
Maison des Bois, a country-seat about a league from the 
Hague, where they received the various congratulatory depu- 
tations. Their public entry into the capital was delayed until 
five days later. Louis was well known in Holland, which he 
had visited on former occasions, and the curiosity of the 
Dutch was therefore chiefly directed towards the queen, whom 
they now saw for the first time. At the Hague, as in all 
other countries, love is the promptest and most universal 
cause of popular enthusiasm. Louis was highly esteemed 
and venerated, but fear always predominates in the respect 
inspired by a king : whilst a young and lovely queen fascinates 
all eyes and wins every heart. The Hollanders, who received 
Hortense with joyous acclamations, might easily have believed 
that the fair being before them had been created by heaven 
expressly for their sovereign. 

In her appearance, Hortense united the fine figure, the noble 
mien and the graceful manners of her mother, to the peculiar 
charms of the beauties of the Netherlands, their soft blue 
eyes, profusion of fair hair, and dazzling complexion. Her 
conversation displayed the elegance of a French woman, in 
the vivacity, sprightliuess, and appropriate turn of her least 
expressions. During her residence at the Hague, that sober 
capital presented an appearance as gay as it was unexpected, 
in a constant succession of public balls and entertainments, 
at which the most distinguished youth contended for superi- 
ority in dress and accomplishments. The dancing of the 
qneen was perfection, and she promoted this delightful amuse- 
ment, with that true condescension which produces in every 



OF NAPOLEON III. 323 

mind the forgiveness, but never the forgetfulness of superior 
rank. 

As soon as the king had assumed the reins of government, 
he began to use every exertion in his power to merit the 
affection which his subjects already professed from confidence 
in his virtues. To promote sedulously all the various interests 
of the country, seemed to him a certain means of succeeding 
in his endeavor. " I desire," said he, in reply to a deputa- 
tion, "to be saluted by the title of national majesty.''^ He 
declined the services of a body of French troops, which had 
been sent to accompany him to his capital ; it was his wish 
that the escort of his entry should consist of Hollanders 
alone. This delicate proceeding made a very favorable im- 
pression, and its success induced the adoption of further 
measures of a similar character. As all the officers of the 
household were Frenchmen appointed at Paris, it was natural 
for the aristocracy of Holland to view this exclusive prefer- 
.ence with deep mortification : they justly concluded that the 
duties of welcome, and attendance on the foreign prince given 
to them as a monarch, belonged of right to the natives of the 
soil. Louis entertained the same sentiments, and gradually 
removed the French, under various pretexts, from all the 
posts of importance, which were speedily filled by Hollanders. 

Among other dismissions was that of the grand marshal 
of the palace, M. de Broc, whom queen Hortense had united 
to her friend Adele Auguie, the sister-in-law of Marshal Xey. 
Louis despatched him on a message of congratulation to 
Madrid, on the accession of King Joseph, and as he was 
never recalled, he returned to the French service. His wife 
remained with Hortense, for the queen could never part from 
the faithful depository of all her griefs ; while she repaid the 
confidence with that sympathy so essential to their endurance. 
J^ raving everything, even the open indignation of the king, 
Madame de Broc supported her friend, and repelled the ma- 
lignant suspicions and insidious calumnies which assailed the 



324 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

reputation of her sovereign and benefactress. Ah ! why should 
the ties of such an attachment ever be destroyed ? 

A just appreciation of his political position, and of the 
decision and perseverance displayed in raakino; every necessary 
sacrifice, shows that Louis was too diffident of his abilities, 
when he declined a throne ; indeed we doubt whether any of 
his brothers could have filled it more worthily. In receiviiio^ 
the investiture of Holland, there were but two lines of policy 
to be adopted. As a mere imperial prefect, the new king was 
to sacrifice independence by subjecting everything to France, 
and to annihilate the prosperity of a people wholly dependent 
on maritime commerce, by forcing upon them the continental 
system ; or on mounting the throne he was to assume at once 
the duties and dignities of a sovereign, and as such, to act 
exclusively for the welfare of his kingdom. The former 
alternative would undoubtedly have excited insurrection, and 
to make war on his subjects is, for a monarch, but an indifferent 
style of reigning. The latter plan was far more honorable; 
instead of being the mere instrument of another's caprice, it 
was to reject all subserviency, and to be really a king. It is 
true that in either case, the final consummation would inevi- 
tably be the occupation of Holland by the imperial armies ; 
but there is no room for self-reproach when we have follow^ed 
the conclusions of reason and the dictates of conscience. 
Louis had taken for his motto, ''Do well, come what 
MAY. ' ' 

Unhappily the king, though the one most interested in 
deciding" correctly, was the only person who saw things in 
this light. The highest offices, it is true, were filled up by 
natives of Holland, yet many inferior employments were still 
in the hands of the French, In proportion to the coldness 
and distance exhibited by Louis towards his countrymen, the 
qneen believed herself obliged to increase the consolation of 
encouragement and courtesy. The favor she showed was the 
more sincere, because she really disapproved of the policy 
which rendered their situation so delicate. Placed, in a 



OF NAPOLEON III. 325 

manner, between her husband and her adopted father, she may- 
be pardoned for believing in the infallibility of one whose 
iron will had well ministered, in every conjuncture, to the 
advancement of his o-lory. It is true that in espousing the 
interests of the French, she lost nothing of the attachment 
of her subjects, but the difference in the behaviour of the 
royal pair involved the court in perpetual contests. The 
rivalry apparent in the smallest details of the palace betrayed 
this misunderstanding, the results of which must necessarily, 
be so disastrous to the general weal. 

The situation of Rotterdam is delightful ; its appearance is 
handsome and its streets particularly clean. There is a superb 
road leading to the Hague, pleasantly laid out along the 
canal, and shaded by fine trees. It runs through vast 
meadows, covered with cattle, and displaying a verdure of 
the most splendid green. The view, which would be other- 
wise monotonous, is diversified by a multitude of small coun- 
try-seats, not built perhaps with the most correct taste, but 
pleasing from their remarkable neatness, and the beautiful 
gardens of the rarest plants, by which they are surrounded 
and adorned. 

Holland displays a peculiar character ; it is like nothing 
but itself — a conquest from the sea, preserved by the constant 
repair of its dykes. Its inhabitants are well provided with 
the means of subsistence and comfort, and are extremely con- 
scientious in the discharge of every duty connected with the 
government. They are brave soldiers : Bonaparte has openly 
pronounced this opinion, and they enjoyed the same Character 
in the days of Tacitus. Their probity is extraordinary : 
nearly all their contracts are verbal, yet they are as scrupulous 
in the obligations of commerce, as in the engagements of love 
or the promises of marriage. 

An outline of the court of Holland may not be inappro- 
priate. M. D'Arjuson held the post of grand chamberlain : 
Auguste Caulaincourt that of grand equerry. M. De Yille- 
28 



326 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

neuve was first chamberlain to the qneen : his wife, the 
daughter of M. Guibert — a lady celebrated for her wit and 
her fine person — was dame du palais. M. de Saugras, 
chief master of the ceremonies, did the honors of the palace 
in an extremely agreeable manner. 

M. de Girardin tells us that a chamberlain introduced him 
into the cabinet of the king, who was dressed in the uniform 
of the guard, white, with crimson facings. "The pleasure 
of seeing him after a long absence, was diminished by my 
sorrow at observing his sallow complexion, and aspect of 
general languor, and the extreme difficulty he experienced in 
walking, and especially in standing. He looked so much like 
a man on whom death had set his seal, that I found it impos- 
sible to restrain the feelings of sadness with which his appear- 
ance oppressed me. My emotion became so strong that it 
was noticed by his majesty, and drew from him several 
remarks, though I sincerely hope that he was unable to divine 
the cause. It is impossible to know the king and not to love 
him : he is gifted with all the inestimable qualities that belong 
to an upright man. I was the bearer of two letters : one 
from the king of Naples, and the other from his mother. He 
conversed with us a long time, and expressed great pleasure 
at seeing us again. I mentioned that a passage in his letter 
to the queen of Naples, had given rise to my journey. ' Be 
assured, ' was his reply, ' that I shall use every exertion in my 
power to be useful to Joseph : whatever belongs to me is at 
his disposal. I am already endeavoring to raise money, 
though ft will be a difficult business ; for this country would 
never lend, even to Napoleon. However, I do not despair, 
and shall do my best. ' All this w^as said in that open, frank 
manner, which no dissimulation, however practised, can pre- 
tend to imitate. ' Your majesty,' said I, 'has just opened a 
loan, which, I understand, is filling up rapidly. It is a 
splendid reward of your exertions, and the most flattering 
testimony of the popularity of your administration. Posterity 



OF NAPOLEON III. 327 

will ever remember with gratitude, your constant opposition 
to a national bankruptcy.' 'I take the more credit to ray- 
self,' said the king, 'for this opposition, because the measure 
was particularly pressed upon me by the emperor. I found 
it impossible to persuade him, that in declaring bankruptcy, 
I declared the destruction of Holland. All its capital would 
have immediately sought refuge in England, where much of it 
is collected already. The force of circumstances has set on 
foot a contraband trade, which I find it impracticable to sup- 
press. This nation is so industrious, that with a population 
of not more than eighteen hundred thousand souls, it pays 
one hundred and ten millions. Its debt is sixty millions, and 
there is scarcely enough remaining for State expenses. There 
is not a French soldier in the kingdom, yet I am obliged to 
supply a corps of twenty thousand Dutch troops for the grand 
army. Peace ! peace ! that must be the grand object of con- 
quest. This hard work ruins my health, Girardin ; you must 
find me very much changed. I can scarcely write : I walk 
with great difficulty.' — He was continually rubbing his legs 
and hands during the whole interview. — 'The climate of this 
country is killing me. Its humidity is very unwholesome for 
my constitution. I am sorry for it : it is the country of good 
faith. There is no need here of superintending the adminis- 
tration : a man, on receiving an appointment, swears that he 
will fulfil its duties to the best of his ability, and keeps his 
word. Their custom-house oaths are never examined, and 
are never false. It is a nation of true republicans, but deeply 
tinged with party spirit : this prevents them from forming a 
proper estimate of each other. I require a hot climate, and 
the baths of the south of France.' 

" On taking leave of his majesty, we were informed by M, 
Boucheberne, prefect of the palace, that the king desired us 
to lodge in no other house than his own, and that we were to 
reside in the palace : this intelligence was afterwards con- 
firmed by M. de Saugras. Just as we were about sitting 
down to table, we were invited to dine with the queen. The 



328 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

company consisted of an aid-de-camp of Jerome, Madame de 
Bouber, and the little Prince Louis. 

** The queen was as agreeable and amiable as ever. I de- 
livered her the letters from the empress and the queen. ' I 
always like to receive letters,' said she, 'and to be remem- 
bered. My friends would be ungrateful if they forgot me, 
for I never forget any one. My brother Joseph ought cer- 
tainly to be pleased with me ; for, while I was at Mayence, 
I wrote to him frequently, and sent him a great quantity of 
trifling news, which absence alone renders of the least conse- 
quence.' 

"After dinner, we went into the queen's drawing-room. 
Her apartments are furnished with great simplicity. Nothing 
could be more gracious than our reception, and on leaving 
her, she invited us to prolong our visit to this country, and 
to pay our respects to her every evening. Before going to 
bed, we made a round of visits to all the ministers, and 
returned to our hotel at ten o'clock at night, heartily tired. 
All the French about the king's person are loud in their com- 
plaints of the climate : Caulaincourt, whose health is indif- 
ferent, is quite unable to stand its effects. 

" Next day, the king received us in his cabinet. He was 
in the midst of a circle of the great civil and military officers. 
He quitted his place for the purpose of addressing a few 
words in an obliging manner to the different members of the 
diplomatic corps, and the various individuals who had the 
honor of being admitted to the audience. 

"The court presents an extremely brilliant spectacle. The 
dresses of the public ministers and the civil functionaries are 
superbly embroidered : it seems as if they intended to make 
up for the long prohibition of embroidery in this country. 
The great officers of State wear a green dress, laced with 
gold : the pattern of the trimming is the same as that of the 
imperial household. The chamberlains are dressed in red 
and gold : the equerries and prefect in blue and gold. The 
diplomatic costume of Holland is remarkably rich and 



OF NAPOLEON III. 329 

elegant : it is a shade of very light blue, with silver lace. 
The decoration of the Order of Holland has been very ex- 
tensively distributed : there are three classes — knights, com- 
manders, and grand crosses. This sort of distinction has 
become quite an object of ambition, in a country where it was 
previously wholly unknown. Wherever men are united in 
society, vanity, adroitly flattered, is one of the most potent 
instruments of the sway of the ruler. 

" The king generally rides with a single pair of horses to 
his carriage : it is only on very rare occasions that he uses a 
coach and six. Whenever he goes out, the equerry on duty 
mounts his horse, and takes his place near the door." 

Calamity reunited Louis and Hortense, and restored for a 
time domestic concord, by overwhelming them with misfortune. 
In the beginning of May, 1S01, their eldest son, the young 
Prince Napoleon, was suddenly carried off by the croup ; a 
disease of which even the name was, until then, unknown in 
France. 

The grief of Hortense, which was vehement in proportion 
to the strength of mind it had overcome, excited serious 
apprehensions for her life. It brought on a series of nervous 
attacks, that inspired pity in all who approached her. The 
distress of Louis was not less poignant, though more gloomy 
and under better command. Their physicians at length 
recommended the baths of the Pyrenees ; perhaps quite as 
much to remove them from the reminiscences of their lost 
child, as for any medical properties likely to be useful in the 
restoration of their health. 

It is one of the burthens of royalty, that a monarch can 
neither enjoy nor suffer like a private individual : every mo- 
ment withdrawn from duty, to be devoted to pleasure or 
sorrow, is marked by a public loss. The Dutch sympathized 
too deeply in the affliction of their sovereigns to murmur at 
their seeking consolation in the variety of travel : but, unfor- 
tunately, though Louis had rendered them happy by the 
equitable policy of his personal government, yet he could not 
28* 



830 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

prevent the just grounds of complaint that arose from the 
measures of Napoleon, who administered the affairs of his 
kingdom during his journey. 

The emperor availed himself of this opportunity to intro- 
duce into Holland the measures of policy adopted in his own 
territories. The chief resources of Great Britain were 
derived from her commerce with the continent, which was the 
outlet for the immense products of her factories. Collecting 
by her ships the raw material of every country, she afterwards 
laid all Europe under contribution by returning them in a 
manufactured shape. By closing this outlet the sources of her 
prosperity were dried up, and her most vital interests endan- 
gered. Such was the Continental System. The opposition 
in Holland to its introduction sunk under the absolute will 
of Napoleon, and the ministers of Louis obeyed with reluc- 
tance and sorrow. 

The inhabitants of the sea-ports, deprived of the resources 
of lawful commerce, attempted to substitute an illicit traffic. 
The emperor became irritated, and would have made terrible 
examples of the guilty, but for the return of Louis, who ex- 
ercised the richest prerogative of royalty, by pardoning the 
criminals. This clemency, with his courageous humanity at 
the time of the disaster at Leyden and during several inunda- 
tions, endeared him still more to his subjects. The contraband 
trade, however, was greatly augmented by the impunity of 
the first offenders; and Napoleon, deeply incensed by the 
opposition to his authority, began to entertain unfriendly 
feelings towards his brother, and to project seriously the 
union of Holland and France. 

On her return from the Pyrenees, Hortense was prevented 
from proceeding to the Hague by her peculiarly delicate state 
of health. She suffered from general weaknes, and had but 
partially recovered from the nervous attack, brought on by 
the recent shock. Her domestic happiness had been also 
much disturbed by the political disputes of her husband and 
the emperor. Calamities from without strike equally the 



OF NAPOLEON III. 331 

prince and the peasant in their don:iestic recoil. The gloomy 
temper of Louis, exasperated by the importunate demands of 
his brother, no longer permitted him to be kind to a wife, 
who espoused or excused every measure dictated by the policy 
of France. 

Napoleon's grounds of complaint are contained in a letter 
addressed to the king of Holland, in 1808, on the occasion 
of the pardon of the smugglers. This historical document 
is too important to be here omitted ; for it forms a valuable 
appendix to the account of his administration given to the 
public by Louis, and has a direct bearing on events deeply 
and fatally influencing the destiny of Queen Hortense. 

Chateau de Marac, April 3cZ, 1808. 
Sir, and my brother, — Within the last hour I received 
your despatch of the 22d March, from the Auditor D — t, and 
the courier, who will bear you my reply, sets out for Holland 
immediately. The use you have made of the power of pardon 
must inevitably produce bad effects. The power of pardon 
is one of the finest and noblest attributes of sovereignty : but 
to save it from contempt, it should only be exercised when 
the mercy of the sovereign is no reproach to the act of the 
judge — when the royal clemency can inspire none but gene- 
rous and grateful sentiments. But the present case is widely 
different. A troop of banditti attack and murder a party of 
custom-house officers, in order to smuggle with more im- 
punity : — they are condemned to death, and your majesty 
accords them a pardon — a pardon to outcasts and assassins 
whom no one pitied ! Had these men been merely taken in 
the act of smuggling — had they even murdered your officers 
in self-defence — then the destitute condition of their families, 
and the particular circumstances of the deed, might have been 
taken into consideration, and the mitigation of the rigor of 
the law would have gained for your government an appear- 
ance of paternal kindness. In remitting the penalty of crimes 
against fiscal laws, and especially in the forgiveness of political 



332 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

offences, mercy is well bestowed. The great principle is, 
that when the sovereign himself is the object of the crime, 
then clemency becomes admirable. On the first rumor of an 
accusation of this nature, public opinion is arrayed on the 
side of the culprit, and not in support of the executive which 
is to enforce the law. Should the prince remit the punish- 
ment, the people consider him superior to the offence, and 
their indignation is then excited against the offender : should 
he pursue an opposite course, he is reprobated as an oppressor 
and a tyrant ; but if he pardon atrocious criminals, he is con- 
temned for his weakness, or hated for his evil intentions. Do 
not imagine that mercy is a prerogative which can be always 
wielded without injury, or that society applauds its constant 
employment. On the contrary, the community condemns its 
exercise on signal offenders, because it then becomes destruc- 
tive of social order. You have made use of this right too 
frequently and too indiscriminately : you should be deaf to 
your heart's benevolence, when it incites to acts detrimental 
to your subjects. I should have imitated your conduct with 
regard to the Jews, but I would never have pardoned the 
Middleburg smugglers. In the latter case, there were many 
reasons why justice should have been allowed to take its 
course, and by the terror of such an execution to attain the 
excellent effect of preventing future crimes. Royal officers 
had been massacred in the middle of the night ; the murderers 
were condemned ; yet your majesty commutes the punishment 
for a few years' imprisonment, and the inevitable result will 
be found in a complete discouragement of the collectors of 
the revenue. 

Let me now explain the political tendency of this measure. 
For many years past, Holland has been the channel through 
which England has introduced its manufactures into the con- 
tinent, and this branch of trade has been immensely profit- 
able to its merchants. For this reason the Dutch are attached 
to smuggling and favor England, and for this reason they 
hate France, who prohibits smuggling, and wars against 



OF NAPOLEON III. 333 

England. The pardon you have accorded to these murdering 
revenue-breakers, is a kind of deference paid to the love of 
Holland for contraband trade. It seems as if you made 
common cause with them ; but against whom ? Against 
myself ! 

The Hollanders are attached to you. Your manners are 
plain : your disposition mild : your government suited to their 
views. Were you to show yourself firmly resolved to put 
down all illicit traffic — were you to explain to your subjects 
their true position — you would then employ your influence 
with discretion, and they would believe the continental system 
a benefit, because it would be upheld by their king. I cannot 
discover what advantage your majesty proposes to yourself, 
from popularity obtained at my expense. The days of Rys- 
wick are gone by in Holland, and France is no longer in the 
last years of Louis XIY. If Holland be unable to pursue 
an independent policy ; she has no alternative but to adhere 
to the conditions of her alliance with France. 

The policy of princes, my brother, must ever regard the 
future, and not the mere exigencies of the passing day. 
What is the present condition of Europe ? On the one hand 
is England, possessing alone a preponderance to which the 
whole world has hitherto been obliged to submit ; on the other 
are the French empire and the powers of the continent ; who, 
with the force of union, can never submit to this species of 
supremacy exercised by Great Britain. All these nations 
formerly possessed colonies and foreign commerce ; the extent 
of their seaboard is much greater than that of England ; but 
unfortunately they have been always disunited. Great Britain 
has attacked their navies in detail — she has triumphed on 
every sea — and all their maritime forces are destroyed. With 
all the resources for shipping and seamen, of Russia, Sweden, 
France, and Spain, not a squadron dare venture from their 
roadsteads. It is no longer, then, from a league of the 
maritime powers — a confederacy which is moreover impracti- 
cable, from distance and conflicting interests — that Europe 



334 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

must expect commercial independence and established peace : 
they can only be declared by the will of England ! 

Peace ! I desire to obtain it by every means consistent 
with the dignity of France : for peace, I will sacrifice all but 
national honor. Every day I am more and more convinced 
of its necessity, and the other powers wish for it as much as 
I do. I entertain towards England, neither angry prejudice 
nor implacable hatred. Her policy towards me has been the 
policy of repulsion ; on my part, I have retaliated by a system 
of exclusion ; not so much from the ambitious views alleged 
by my enemies, as to force the British cabinet to terms. I 
am perfectly content that England should be rich and pros- 
perous, if France and her allies are as rich and prosperous as 
England, Thus the continental system has no other end than 
to accelerate a final settlement of international law, as well 
for the French empire as for Europe. All the northern 
sovereigns maintain a rigorous prohibitive policy, yet their 
commerce has increased wonderfully ; the fabrics of Prussia 
in particular already begin to rival our own manufactures. 
You are aware that France itself, and all the extent of coast 
from the Gulf of Lyons to the head of the Adriatic, now an 
integral part of the empire, are absolutely closed against the 
products of foreign industry. I am now about to take such 
a share in the afi'airs of Spain, as will wrest Portugal from 
the influence of Great Britain, and place the Spanish ports 
under the full control of the French political system. Thus 
the whole seaboard of Europe will be shut against the Eng- 
lish, for I exclude the Turks, who have no commerce with 
the rest of the continent. 

You will perceive from this abstract, the fatal consequences 
of the facilities afforded by Holland to Great Britain for in- 
troducing her manufactures into Europe. . It affords her an 
opportunity of raising from ourselves the subsidies with which 
other nations are paid to attack us. Your majesty is more 
interested than I am, in guarding against the trickery of 



OF NAPOLEON III. 835 

English diplomacy. A few years' patience, and England will 
desire peace as earnestly as her enemies. 

Again, if you consider the position of your States, you 
will discover that the continental system is less beneficial to 
me than to yourself. Holland is essentially a commercial and 
maritime power. She possesses capacious harbors, fleets, 
seamen, skilful officers, and colonies which cost the mother 
country nothing. Her inhabitants, too, have as much ability 
in commerce as the English. Has not Holland all this to 
protect ? May not peace restore her to her ancient import- 
ance ? Grant that her situation for a few years may be 
painful : is it not better than that the monarch of Holland 
should be a mere English governor, and his kingdom and 
colonies the appanages of Great Britain ? Any encourage- 
ment given to the trade with England must tend directly to 
this result. Sicily and Portugal are before your eyes. 

Let events take their course. If you are obliged to sell 
your gin, England is obliged to buy it. Point out places 
where it can be obtained by the British smugglers in return 
for hard money, but never for merchandize: never — you 
understand me. Peace will come at last, and then a treaty 
of commerce will be signed with England. Very probably 
I may conclude one too, but our mutual interests shall be 
guaranteed. If we should be obliged to allow England her 
maritime supremacy, purchased at the expense of so much 
blood and treasure ; a preponderance, moreover, to which 
she is entitled by geographical situation, and her territorial 
acquisitions in three quarters of the globe ; at least our vessels 
will be able to navigate the ocean without the fear of insult 
to their flag, and our foreign commerce will cease to be ruinous. 
The main object now is, to prevent England from interfering 
in the politics of the continent. 

This business of the pardons has drawn me into long de- 
tails, which were necessary to obviate erroneous impressions, 
if any such had been instilled into your majesty by a Dutch 
ministry. I request you to reflect seriously on this letter — to 



836 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

make the matters of which it treats a subject of deliberation 
in your councils, and through your ministers, to give a corre- 
sponding impulse to the administration of the government. 

, France will never permit Holland, under any pretext, to 
secede from the general cause of the continent. As for the 
smugglers, since the fault has already been committed, and 
there are no means of recalling the past, I can only advise 
you not to leave them in the prison of Middleburg, which is 
too near the scene of their crime : send them to the other end 
of Holland. 

The insertion of this letter seemed necessary to exhibit the 
true situation of Louis in Holland. Harassed by the con- 
stant importunities of his brother, the reaction of his vexation 
was too often felt by the queen. Was she then sufficiently 
indulgent ? Did she feel that, notwithstanding the inferiority 
of his genius, her husband could not yield, without pain, to 
views of policy diametrically opposite to his own ? She pro- 
bably endured as long as it was in her power, the miseries 
of an union without sympathy ; but she was unhappy, and 
power without happiness has no charms save for the unfeeling 
and ambitious. The heart of Hortense had been cast in 
another and a far different mould. 

Louis soon grew weary of his capital, and removed the 
court to Utrecht, hoping to escape from his own disgust and 
chagrin. To change of place — the first remedy suggested by 
unhappiness — the king, in his new abode, sought to add the 
relief of gaiety. In addition to the ordinary parade of a 
court, there were frequently small social parties at the palace ; 
and public balls, attended by the best society of the province ; 
but in all these assemblies, seemingly devoted to pleasure, the 
languor and monotony impressed by the absence of the queen, 
were but too apparent. All remembered the charm with 
which her wit and vivacity had enlivened the circles of the 
Hague, and all regretted the fascination that ever surrounds 
a young, affable, and beautiful princess. 



OP NAPOLEON III. 337 

Louis was soon dissatisfied witli his residence at Utrecht. 
He found the town to be too thinly peopled to supply suffi- 
cient movement and variety to the court circle. Its inhabit- 
ants were chiefly retired merchants, living quietly on their 
incomes, who were annoyed by the turmoil which thus inter- 
rupted their old established habits. While these showed but 
little gratitude for the preference of their sovereign, the 
citizens of the Hague, on the other hand, were enraged by 
his desertion. Either to suppress murmurs, or to indulge 
once more the love of change, Louis returned again to the 
north of Holland, where the industry and wealth of the nation 
were chiefly centered. Amsterdam was finally fixed upon, and 
received officially the merited title of capital of the kingdom. 

As Holland still continued to import great quantities of 
English merchandize, the cause of the emperor's displeasure 
was by no means removed. Louis was invited to attend a 
congress in the city of Paris, of all the sovereigns in alliance 
with Napoleon. He was perfectly aware of the reproaches 
that awaited him, and of the projects of his brother ; but he 
knew also that when the independence of a sovereign is un- 
supported by military forces, resistance to colossal power is 
a mere sacrifice of the welfare of his subjects. In the end of 
November, 1809, the king of Holland repaired to Paris, in 
the vain hope of averting the storm he felt himself unable to 
withstand. 

Louis had little reason to look for a fraternal reception, 
when he considered the unfriendly relations subsisting between 
France and Holland, and the mortifications heaped upon him 
under the sanction of the emperor. It happened quite other- 
wise. Napoleon received his brother graciously, and in a 
manner expressive of sincere and ardent friendship. The 
king was at once surprised and moved ; pomp and etiquette 
were laid aside, and the kindest aS'ectiou replaced the stiffness 
of royal dignity. It was a meeting of brothers after a long 
and painful estrangement. The pleasure of reconciliation 
engrossed all their thoughts, and public affairs were never 
29 W 



338 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

mentioned. Still the king would have desired an open and 
unhesitating discourse on the various interests which had so 
long divided the two nations, for past events rendered him 
suspicious, and the silence of Napoleon left little room for 
self-deceit. The careless manner in which he was treated, 
soon gave him to understand that the demands on Holland 
would be mere subjects of official communication ; that he 
was not to be consulted ; and that no pains would be taken 
to secure his approbation, or to ascertain that the measures 
proposed accorded with the interests of Holland. 

These gloomy presentiments were soon but too fully realized. 
The speech of Napoleon to the legislative body announced 
the sad destiny of Holland. The king would probably have 
entered his solemn protest before the assembled sovereigns, 
but c»are had been taken to exclude him from the invitation 
which embraced all the other allies of the emperor. The 
danger became every day more imminent : Louis at length 
resolved to return privately to his kingdom, and to resist the 
violent encroachments of his brother, if resistance were yet 
possible. The secret orders given for his departure were 
communicated to the emperor, and the king, on his part, 
ascertained that he was constantly watched by disguised 
officers of the police : one of them, an old soldier of the fifth 
regiment of dragoons, having discovered himself to his former 
colonel. Louis dissimulated, and hoping to elude the vigilance 
of his guards, feigned total ignorance of this system of ob- 
servation ; but every hope proved vain — every plan was a 
failure. Neither corruption nor address could extricate him 
from the toils in which he was involved, and no resource was 
left better than a disguised flight. A man more robust and 
resolute than Louis, might have quitted Paris at nightfall — 
mounted his horse at the gates — and escaped at full speed ; 
but though still young, the doubtful health of the king pre- 
vented all thoughts of so hardy an enterprize. He resolved 
to despatch one of his attendants secretly to Amsterdam, 
with positive orders to the minister of war to break the dykes, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 839 

place the country in a complete state of military preparation, 
and by every possible exertion to prevent the French forces 
from occupying the capital. Napoleon, who was soon informed 
of these measures, made bitter complaints to the king, and 
gave way to the most furious passion. Louis opposed firm- 
ness to violence, and when driven to extremity, avowed 
openly that the defensive preparations had been undertaken 
by his express command. " I have been deceived," was his 
bold expression, "by promises which were never intended to 
be kept. Holland is weary of being the puppet of France." 
The emperor, enraged by a dignified opposition to which he 
w^as wholly unused, was violently excited ; Louis met him 
with the quiet resignation and composure of a good conscience. 
Napoleon quickly recovered himself, and becoming suddenly 
calm, informed the king coldly, that he must choose between 
the union of Holland to France, or the immediate revocation 
of his warlike instructions, and the removal of his minister 
of war. 

This result had been the constant object of the king's most 
lively apprehensions ; it was this deadly blow which he had 
endeavored most especially to shun. The imperious neces- 
sity of his situation compelled submission, and forced him to 
comply with the demands of those who were armed with 
irresistible power. In his inmost heart, the noble design was 
still cherished, of protecting his dominions from their immi- 
nent danger : but to effect this, it was first necessary to escape 
from the species of captivity in which he was held. His 
renewed attempts to elude the vigilance of his domestic spies, 
were regularly thwarted. Under pretence of the respectful 
deference due to his exalted rank, their attendance on his per- 
son was constant, and they particularly, but with the utmost 
politeness, opposed all his excursions in the direction of the 
gate of Flanders. 

The first open act of usurpation undertaken against Holland, 
was the occupation of the fortresses of Bergen-op-Zoom and 
Breda by the Marshal Duke of Reggio, without the know- 



I 



340 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

ledge of the king : at the same time the emperor proclaimed 
the union to France of the whole country between the Meuse, 
the Scheldt, and the ocean. The captive monarch, incapable 
of armed resistance, published a protest against this flagrant 
infraction of every principle of international law. 

His health was so far affected by these various disturbances 
and vexations, that for some time he was confined to his bed 
by a nervous disease. All the different monarchs then assem- 
bled in Paris, hastened to visit him ; Napoleon alone was 
absent, and this apparent indifference deeply wounded the 
feelings of his sensitive brother. At length the emperor 
came, and accosted him with the utmost kindness ; but the 
conversation turned entirely upon indifferent topics, without 
the slightest mention of politics. 

As soon as his health would permit, the king undertook a 
short journey, for the purpose of settling his position on the 
score of restraint. He proceeded to his chateau of St. Leu, 
where the question was resolved to his disappointment and 
mortification. The measure of sacrifice was not yet filled : 
concessions far more important than those already made, 
were still to be exacted. As usual, Louis began by resist- 
ance and ended in submission. It was the only means to 
retain a sovereignty, of which he was less tenacious from 
personal motives, than from anxiety to preserve the place of 
Holland among the independent powers of Europe. Much 
was yielded, though with deep regret. Everything that was 
not lost, seemed a clear gain in these unhappy negotiations. 
At length the constant watching of his person ceased : Napo- 
leon became kind when all his demands were conceded, and 
even endeavored to renew their former affection. After an 
absence which, instead of lasting one month, had been pro- 
longed to four, Louis took his departure from France. His 
affliction at this protracted separation from his kingdom 
may well be imagined, but every sorrow was forgotten as he 
approached once more his adopted country, his cherished 
Holland. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 341 

The highest enjoyment of a monarch, the delight of wit- 
nessing the joy of his subjects, awaited Louis in his dominions. 
Dark rumors, hinting that he woald never return, had been 
long circulated, and the sensation produced by his re-appear- 
ance was the more enthusiastic in proportion to its being un- 
expected. The queen also was immediately looked for. Her 
residence at Paris had been but little happier than her hus- 
band's, for the same ambition which excited Napoleon's 
aggressions upon Holland, had also inspired the project of 
an imperial alliance with the house of Austria. Motives 
seemingly the most opposite, governed the deeds of this 
extraordinary man. After routing the armies of Francis in 
a hundred battles — after two entries as a conqueror into the 
German capital — he rejoiced in consummating the humiliation 
of his enemy, by extorting his consent to the marriage of his 
daughter. It seemed also to the fortunate soldier, that an 
alliance with the oldest and haughtiest dynasty of Europe, 
would seat him legitimately on his uninherited throne. 

A second marriage being decreed, it became necessary to 
annul the first. Long before any direct expression of the 
imperial will, the quick-sighted courtiers had discovered Na- 
poleon's intentions; which were allowed, indeed, to escape 
by degrees, as if to prepare the public mind, and the feelings 
of the individuals most deeply interested. In this he was 
unsuccessful. A palace seldom contains the courage or the 
indiscretion that will convey unwelcome intelligence to the 
sovereign, before it assumes an official shape. Notwithstand- 
ing all the precautions of her husband, the heart of Josephine 
was so long a stranger to distrust, that even at the fatal 
moment of explanation, the blow prepared by the manoeuvres 
of many weeks, and announced through every channel, came 
at last, with the suddenness and severity of an unexpected 
shock. 

As early as a journey to Fontainbleau, in 1S01, the word 
divorce had been cautiously whispered by the officers of the 
imperial household. A sudden death had carried off the 
29* 



342 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

eldest son of the queen of Holland ; a loss deeply regretted 
by Napoleon. When only seven years of age, the child ex- 
hibited a most promising disposition, great mildness of 
temper, and an aptitude of character, capable of receiving 
the noblest impressions. The first born of the new dynasty 
had excited and preserved all the solicitude and affection of 
its founder, who had given him his name, and had proposed 
adoption. Napoleon indulged the hope of superintending 
his education, and of making him ultimately the heir of his 
power : with the death of this child came probably the first 
thought of centreing in himself and his direct line, the hopes 
and heritage of so many victories. 

After the conferences of Schoenbrunn, the idea of a divorce 
had obtained complete possession of the mind of Napoleon, 
On his return to France after the conclusion of peace, he 
proceeded directly to Fontainbleau. His journey had been 
so well arranged, that he arrived many hours before the em- 
press, who had quitted Strasburg, and had been more than a 
month at Paris. This delay produced severe reproaches on 
the part of Napoleon, who was seeking excuses for his con- 
duct even to himself. 

"Three days after our arrival at Fontainbleau," says an 
officer of the household who has since published his memoirs, 
"I observed some traces of sadness upon the brow of Josephine, 
and much less freedom in Napoleon's manners towards her. 
One morning, after breakfast, the empress did me the honor 
to converse with me in the recess of a window in her chamber ; 
and after some commonplace questions respecting our stay 
at Schoenbrunn, and the manner in which we passed our time 
there, she said to me, ' Monsieur de Bausset, I have great 
confidence in your attachment to me : I hope you will rej ly 
with sincerity to the question I am about to ask you.' I 
assured her of my readiness to give her all the information in 
my power, and that I felt at greater liberty to do so, becau.-e 
nothing had been entrusted to me which could bind me to 
silence. ' Well, then, if you know the reason, tell me why 



OP NAPOLEON III. 343 

the private communication between my apartment and that 
of the emperor has been closed.' 'I was entirely ignorant 
of it, madam, until your present assurance of the fact. I 
only know that some repairs were commenced, and that they 
have been suspended in consequence of the emperor having 
returned much sooner than he was expected. Probably they 
did not imagine that he would take up his residence at Fon- 
tainbleau so late in the season. Your majesty may perceive 
from the manner in which some of your apartments are 
furnished, that things are not yet completed.' Such was my 
answer, and in truth I should have been much embarrassed 
had I made any other, for this was not the time to speak of 
my private observations. I shall never forget the last words 
w^hich this estimable princess condescended to address to me : 
' Be assured, M. de Bausset, that there is some mystery in all 
this. ' This conversation only served to strengthen the im- 
pressions I had received during the negotiations at Schoen- 
brunn, although I could not foresee the period of the catas- 
trophe, nor how it would be brought about. I was soon 
better informed. 

"The king of Saxony arrived at Paris on the 18th of No- 
vember, and their majesties left Fontainbleau on the 14th. 
Napoleon performed the journey on horseback, and immedi- 
ately after his arrival he paid a visit to the king, who occupied 
the palace of L'Elysee. The presence of this virtuous mon- 
arch at Paris sometimes interrupted their privacy, but the 
embarrassment of Napoleon increased proportionably with 
the uneasiness and vague forebodings of the empress. She 
appeared to have a strong presentiment of approaching mis- 
fortune, and to be gathering her strength to support its 
bitterness with fortitude. 

" I was on duty at the Tuilleries, after the 2tth of Novem- 
ber. On that day, and on the succeeding Tuesday and Wed- 
nesday, I could easily observe a great change in the features 
of the empress, and a mute constraint in the manners of 
Napoleon. If during dinner, he broke the silence, it was 



344 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

only to ask me some brief question, without listening to my 
reply. On each of these days the dinner was over in less 
than ten minutes. At length, on Thursday, the 30th, the 
storm burst. Their majesties sat down at table : Josephine 
wore a large white hat, which was tied under the chin, and 
concealed a great part of her face. I thought I could per- 
ceive that she had been weeping, and that she still restrained 
her tears with difficulty. She appeared the image of grief 
and despair. The most profound silen-ce reigned during the 
whole meal, and the dishes were touched out of mere form. 
The only words uttered were when Napoleon asked me 'what 
kind of weather it was V In pronouncing them he rose from 
the table, and Josephine slowly followed. When coffee was 
served. Napoleon took the cup from the page in waiting, and 
intimated that he wished to be alone. Anxious, uneasy, and 
a prey to gloomy reflections, I immediately retired to the 
attendance hall, where their majesties usually dined, and sat 
down in an arm chair near the door of the emperor's apart- 
ment. I was watching mechanically the removal of the 
dinner service, when I suddenly heard the empress shriek 
violently. The usher of the chamber was on the point of 
opening tha door, but I prevented him, observing that the 
emperor would call for assistance if he thought it necessary. 

" I was standing close to the door when Napoleon opened 
it himself, and said quickly on perceiving me, ' Come in, 
Bausset, and shut the door.' I entered the room, and saw the 
empress lying on the carpet, and uttering the most lamentable 
cries and complaints. * No ! no ! I can never survive it, ' 
exclaimed the unfortunate princess. Napoleon said to me, 
* Bausset, are you strong enough to carry Josephine down the 
private staircase to her own apartment V I immediately 
obeyed, and with the assistance of Napoleon, raised the em- 
press, who seemed to be laboring under a nervous attack. 
He then took a light from the table, and opened a door, which 
led through an obscure passage to the staircase he had men- 
tioned. When we had come to the first step of the staircase, 



OP NAPOLEON III. 345 

I observed to Napoleon that it was too narrow for us to 
descend without falling : he immediately called the keeper of 
his portefolio, who was stationed, night and day, at a door 
of the cabinet opening upon the landing. Napoleon gave 
him the torch, which was now of no use in the lighted pas- 
sage, and ordered him to go before. He then took hold of 
Josephine's feet himself, to enable me to descend with more 
ease. Once my sword embarrassed me, and I thought we 
should certainly fall ; but happily no accident occurred, and 
we deposited our precious burthen on an ottoman in her bed- 
chamber. 

" The emperor immediately ran to the bell-pull, and rang 
for the women of the empress. She had ceased to moan since 
I had first raised her in the upper saloon, and I imagined 
that she had fainted, until the time of the little difficulty with 
my sword in the middle of the stairs. As we had no time 
for arranging our positions, I was obliged to tighten my 
grasp in order to avoid a fall which might have been fatal to 
all of us. My arms were round her waist — her back sup- 
ported by my breast — and her head lying on ray right 
shoulder. When she perceived my endeavors to keep from 
falling, she whispered, 'You press me too hard.' From 
that moment I felt no apprehensions about her health, and 
it was evident that she had never lost her recollection for an 
instant. 

" During this whole transaction I was too busy with 
Josephine to observe Napoleon ; but when the attendants 
came in, I followed him into a small antechamber adjoining 
the bed-room. His agitation and uneasiness were excessive. 
His grief, indeed, disturbed him so much, that he informed 
me of the cause of all that had passed, in these words. * The 
interests of France and of my dynasty do violence to my 
heart. Divorce has become a rigorous duty. I am the more 
afflicted at this scene with Josephine, because she must have 
heard everything from Hortense three days ago. I deplore 
with my whole heart the necessity which condemns me to a 



346 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

separation. I thought she had more firmness, and was by 
no means prepared for such a paroxysm of grief.' His emo- 
tion compelled him to utter these sentences at long intervals ; 
the words were pronounced with difficulty and almost without 
connection. His voice was faltering and oppressed, and his 
eyes filled with tears. He must have lost all self-command, 
or he would never have entered into such details to one so 
far removed from his councils and his confidence as myself. 
The whole scene did not last more than seven or eight 
minutes. 

''Napoleon immediately sent for Corvisart, Queen Hor- 
tense, Cambacer^s and Fouche ; but before returning to his 
own apartment, he made personal inquiries after Josephine, 
who was calmer and more resigned." 

It was easy indeed for him to feel resigned to the blow 
about to be inflicted upon his best friend, and most faithful 
companion ; and it was equally unreasonable to charge her 
with weakness, because a complaint escaped her at the fatal 
crisis. He might have learned from his own experience, that 
keenness of feeling is the first emotion of surprised pride. 
His own disorder — the few words of apology stammered out 
to an inferior attendant — the tears he was unable to restrain 
— were at least as much astonishing, as that Josephine should 
exhibit in her grief the weakness of a woman, rather than the 
dignity of a sovereign. It is true that the unhappy empress 
had been already led to expect this afflicting communication ; 
but the instructions of Napoleon, given as well to prevent his 
own embarrassment, as out of consideration for Josephine, 
had been but imperfectly fulfilled. Hortense was selected as 
the natural mediatrix, because, as she was endeared by the 
closest ties of blood, she could best employ the afi*ectionate 
stratagems and soothing address, so necessary to prepare her 
mother for her calamity. But the same feelings prevented 
her complete co-operation ; for in the proposed measure, she 
could see neither propriety nor necessity, while her filial 
affection and queenly pride pointed out all its injustice and 



OP NAPOLEON III. 347 

caprice. The confidence of the emperor was to her a misfor- 
tune ; and her heart would have broken had it been required 
that she should declare the imperial will abruptly to her 
mother. A few distant allusions and equivocal expressions, 
which were all she could bring herself to utter, fulfilled the 
strict commands of duty ; after these, it was but just that the 
first cause of all the evil, should bear the punishment of 
announcing its approach, and sustaining the first burst of 
sorrow or anger produced by the sad intelligence. 

The liveliness of Josephine's grief was displayed in all her 
sentiments and expressions. The invincible goodness of her 
heart recalled the many ties that united her to the emperor, 
at the very moment when they were about to be eternally 
severed. Her least regret was for her throne : it was the loss 
of her husband, so warmly admired and so truly loved — that 
excited the keenest and most enduring affliction. Not con- 
tent, however, with practising herself the duties of gratitude 
and submission, she enjoined and enforced them upon her 
children. Young and strongly attached to their mother, they 
felt themselves injured by the blow directed against her rights. 
This exalted filial piety, justified by natural afi'ection, was 
pardonable even in the eyes of reason and policy. 

Josephine was the true and only link of connection between 
Napoleon and her children : after her divorce, their natural 
relation towards him was inferior to that of collateral rela- 
tives. The crown of Italy, which had been promised to 
Eugene, was lost beyond all hope, when the emperor could 
look forward to heirs of his own blood. The situation of 
Hortense was in no wise more favorable. Her condition as 
the wife of Napoleon's brother seemed a feeble bond of union, 
when that brother already tottered on his throne, and when 
every day increased his estrangement from his consort. It 
was therefore excusable in the brother and sister, if they 
wished to resign the grandeur already half lost by the divorce 
of their mother, and to become the companions of her retire- 
ment, and the sharers of her obscurity. Josephine moderated 



348 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

these transports of feeling ; she excused the conduct of Na- 
poleon, reminded them of their obligations to his favor, and 
commanded implicit obedience to the will of him, who was to 
them a father and a sovereign. Their sacrifice was in the 
highest degree meritorious. What could be more painful, 
after they had left their weeping mother, than to mingle in 
all the pomp of a second marriage — to see a haughty stranger 
seated on the throne of Josephine — to gaze upon the throng 
of servile courtiers crowding around this new object of adula- 
tion — and to acknowledge a mistress, when they had forgotten 
their condition as subjects, in the honored title of children 
of the empress ? 

In every ceremony requiring his presence, Eugene was dis- 
tinguished for his dignified behavior. His countenance, 
usually mild and smiling, had become grave and serious, 
strongly expressive of internal distress, restrained by pride, 
honor, and the obligations of the occasion. He was a man; 
but the feminine weakness of his sister was unequal to a 
similar exertion. Four queens bore the imperial train of 
Maria Louisa, as she approached the nuptial altar : Hor- 
tense, one of the four, wept bitterly as she followed the new 
bride of Napoleon, and when the fatal Yes was pronounced 
that separated him forever from her mother, she utttered a 
loud shriek and became insensible. When this tribute to 
nature and her sex had been thus paid, she recovered all her 
native strength of character, and the lofty bearing befitting 
her rank. 

Josephine practised in its fullest extent the generous mode- 
ration she inculcated on her children. It was in her power 
to have interposed serious obstacles in the way of Napoleon's 
marriage, by means of the religious scruples of Maria Louisa, 
who, from her education in a bigoted court, evinced a strong 
repugnance to become the wife of one whose former union 
was still unbroken in its sacramental obligation. The new 
bride had received assurances that Napoleon's first marriage 
was a mere civil ceremony; but she refused to trust any other 



OF NAPOLEON III. 349 

authority than that of Josephine herself. The Duke of 
Kovigo has stated in his Memoirs, that Napoleon had never 
espoused Josephine in church : in this assertion he has only 
repeated the rumor which he and many others had most pro- 
bably been ordered to spread at the time of the divorce, but 
it is not, on that account, the less untrue. Every religious 
rite had been fulfilled, and, strange as it may appear, twice 
instead of once. The first time the ceremony was performed 
by a parish priest ; afterwards, a few days before the corona- 
tion, in consequence of some informalities discovered by the 
cardinal delegated by the pope, the nuptial benediction was 
repeated by himself in the chapel of the Tuilleries : Duroc 
and Eugene were two of the witnesses present. The cardinal 
subsequently, at the request of Josephine, signed a certificate, 
declaring the reality and validity of her religious marriage ; 
but no use was made of this powerful weapon. The will of 
a husband who deserted her, was respected, and an equivocal 
reply, involving no direct violation of the truth, quieted all 
the scruples of Maria Louisa. She was requested to refer 
to the Moniteur ; when Josephine well knew that Napoleon 
had thought it inexpedient to publish in that journal, his 
deference for the wishes of the pope and the cardinal. 

In separating for ever from her consort, Josephine sought 
the sad satisfaction of writing her farewell, and of giving him 
for the last time those counsels, which he had always followed 
with advantage. From such a 'letter it was impossible to 
exclude every expression of conjugal and maternal grief; but 
it is to the foresight, rather than to the sorrow of Josephine, 
that we must ascribe the prophetic foreboding of evil, so 
soon to be realized. We here insert this interesting document. 

" My forebodings are realized 1 you have pronounced the 
word which separates us for ever ; the rest is nothing more 
than mere formality. This, then, is the consummation, I will 
not say of all my sacrifices, — they cost me nothing since they 
were made for you, — but of my unbounded attachment, and 
of your own most solemn obligations. If the policy which 
30 



850 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

you allege as a reason should prove successful, I should not 
complain, but policy is a mere pretext. It is to your mis- 
taken ambition that I am sacrificed — to that ambition which 
has guided your whole career, which has led you to conquest, 
elevated you to empire, and now hurries you onward to dis- 
aster and defeat. 

"You speak of mighty alliances, of giving an heir to the 
empire, of founding a new dynasty ; but with whom is this 
alliance to be formed ? With the deceitful house of Austria, 
the sworn enemy of France ; a family which detests us from 
feeling, from system, and from necessity. Do you believe 
that this hatred, so often displayed within the last half cen- 
tury, has not been transferred from the Bourbons to the 
empire ? Or do you suppose that the children of the able 
Maria Theresa, who purchased from Madame de Pompadour 
the fatal treaty of 1*756, which you cannot even mention 
without a shudder — do you suppose that her posterity have 
not inherited her spirit as well as her dominion ? I only 
repeat what you have told me a hundred times when your 
ambition was satisfied with humiliating a power which it now 
seeks to restore. Believe me, as long as you are master of 
Europe, you will find her your slave ; but beware of a reverse ! 

"You wish, however, an heir. Even though as a mother, 
I should appear partial in speaking of a son who is all my 
delight, and used to be your hope — can I or ought I to be 
silent? The adoption of the 12th of January, 1806, was 
then another political falsehood : but there is no deception in 
the virtues and talents of my Eugene. How often have you 
yourself praised them ! Praised them ! you have endeavored 
to recompense them with a throne, while you confessed that 
the reward was inferior to his merits. All France has re- 
echoed these sentiments, but what are the wishes of France ? 
I do not speak of my successor, and you can hardly expect 
it, when all I could say of her would appear suspicious. 
There can be no suspicion as to my prayer for your happiness, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 351 

which alone can now console me. Ah I how great will that 
happiness be, if it equals my sorrow." 

The king of Holland entertained a sincere friendship for 
Josephine, and was deeply grieved at the divorce, yet he was 
very near following the example of Napoleon. The time had 
Dot come, when he could venture to solicit openly for a disso- 
lution of his marriage, but he wished to add the sanction of 
the law to the actual separation existing between himself and 
his queen. The health of both parties was, in point of fact, 
much impaired ; the true motive, however, was to be sought 
in their discordant tempers. During the whole period of his 
late residence in Paris, Louis had never seen the queen, 
except on those public occasions when a meeting was rendered 
unavoidable by the rules of etiquette. On his arrival from 
Holland, he had repaired immediately to his mother's resi- 
dence, instead of proceeding to his own palace, which was 
occupied by Hortense. After all this coldness, he expressed 
a desire for her return to Amsterdam ; and she conceived 
herself obliged by duty to comply with all his wishes. He 
was unfortunate ; his kingdom was menaced by the imperial 
armies ; and the winning manners, amiability and address of 
the queen, might prove extremely useful in encouraging his 
dispirited subjects, and in preserving to the last moment their 
wavering allegiance. 

The experience of a few weeks satisfied Hortense that she 
had flattered herself with a vain illusion. In private, the 
behaviour of the king had undergone no change, and he soon 
found the public observance of appearances, an intolerable 
constraint. Indifference, discord, and misunderstanding be- 
came too apparent, and alike annoyed and afflicted the people 
and their courtiers, the French and the Dutch. Hortense 
was soon convinced that her presence could be more useful to 
her mother than to her husband. Under pretext of ill health, 
she removed for a few days to the royal castle of Leu ; and 
thence, without the least intimation to the king, she set out 
for France. 



352 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

It is said that Louis was somewhat piqued when he heard 
of this departure, either on account of the contempt displayed 
for his authority, or because he really entertained the plan, 
asserted by some, of compelling the queen to reside in his 
dominions. This latter supposition is highly improbable. 
The justice and humanity of Louis, himself so severe a 
sufferer by state policy, could scarcely have inflicted the same 
wrongs upon a neglected wife. Still, however, the best and 
most reasonable are often inconsistent : and we are seldom 
governed ourselves by the same rigid morality which influences 
our judgment of the conduct of others. A rigid supporter 
of political necessity, Napoleon himself has censured the 
behaviour of Hortense, and her little inclination to remain 
with her husband. In the memorial of St. Helena it is said 
that "Josephine constantly professed submission, devotion, 
and the most unbounded complaisance. She frequently 
blamed and reproved her daughter Hortense and her niece 
Stephanie, who lived on bad terms with their husbands, ex- 
hibited caprice, and affected a sort of independence." In 
another place he says, " Hortense, with all her goodness and 
generosity, was not without fault in her behaviour to her hus- 
band ; this I must admit, notwithstanding the affection I bear 
her, and the real attachment which I know she feels for me. 
However eccentric and disagreeable Louis may have been, 
he undoubtedly loved her ; and every woman, under such 
circumstances, and with equally important calls, ought to 
know how to restrain her feelings and even to love in return. 
Had she possessed this self-command, the vexation of her late 
law suit would have been spared and her life rendered happier. 
If she had accompanied Louis to Holland, he would never 
have quitted Amsterdam, nor should I have been compelled 
to take possession of his kingdom, a measure which con- 
tributed greatly to ruin me in Europe, and thus many events 
might have taken a different turn. " 

Napoleon must have been strangely disposed to ascribe 
great results to trifling causes, if he really imagined the union 



OF NAPOLEON III. 353 

of Holland and France to have been the consequence, either 
of the discord of Louis and his consort, or of the indifference 
of Hortense for her husband. If this was his true belief, 
why had he not commanded them to sacrifice their mutual 
dislike ? His will had certainly worked greater miracles than 
this. The truth is, that the emperor never occupied himself 
seriously with these family dissensions ; and all three per- 
fectly understood their relative positions. Louis had adopted 
the only reasonable line of policy ; his wife admired his con- 
duct, even while lamenting the inevitable rupture with Napo- 
leon, and had she idolized her husband she could never have 
advised him to other measures. The policy of the emperor 
was wholly independent of mere domestic relations. In giving 
up to the bent, or perhaps to the caprice of their dispositions, 
Louis and Hortense endangered nothing but their individual 
happiness ; all the rest depended on the destiny, or rather on 
the ambition of Napoleon. It was no doubt through a singu- 
lar modesty that he preferred seeking in others, those causes 
of action which existed only in himself. With Louis, the 
great misfortune was not so much the alleged indifference of 
his consort, as his own inability to stand in comparison with 
the lofty genius of his brother. That same genius which 
conquers kingdoms, subjects nations, creates monarchies, and 
legislates for an empire, possesses in everything a supernatural 
energy. It rules the hearts of women, as despotically as the 
reason and courage of men. To his family the emperor was 
fond and affectionate ; had he been savage and brutal, still 
Josephine would have ever shown mildness, submission, and 
love. Fortune had dealt hardly by Louis : his character was 
unamiable, and he wanted the commanding mind of Napoleon. 
But, alas I genius is often a fatality. 

Josephine retained, after her divorce, the title of empress, 
with a fortune and household befitting her dignity. Her re- 
tirement still bore the appearance of a court ; differing only 
in the less strict observance of etiquette and in the diminished 
attendance of courtiers, but atoning in freedom from restraint 
30* X 



354 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

and in general kindness, for the want of magnificence and 
ceremony. The pleasures of a circle of intimate friends are 
certainly the best consolations for the loss of power; and 
Josephine having full liberty to travel, enjoyed the additional 
advantage of carrying all her society along with her. On 
these expeditions, liberty increased in direct proportion to 
the distance from the capital. She chiefly resided at her 
country seats, Malmaison and Navarre, though sometimes 
more distant journeys were undertaken. On one occasion she 
even went as far as Geneva, where the viceroy of Italy and 
his queen came from Milan to visit her. Hortense, who was 
always with her mother, made one of the party on this occa- 
sion. She wished, while in the vicinity of Savoy, to drink 
the celebrated waters of Aix, which had been recommended 
for the restoration of her health, then very precarious, and 
attended with a kind of morbid melancholy. 

Her faithful friend, Madame de Broc, followed her to Aix. 
They frequently amused themselves with long walks in this 
picturesque and extraordinary region, where every excursion, 
every fresh step, seemed to unfold additional objects of ad- 
miration. The wonders of nature are always enhanced by 
sentiment, and we discover new beauties in a magnificent 
prospect when we view it in the company of those we love. 
Hortense felt this pleasure the more keenly, as landscape 
painting was one of the branches of art in which she particu- 
larly excelled. 

The two friends, one day, attempted the ascent of a moun- 
tain which promised to afford a magnificent and unbounded 
prospect. To reach the summit it was necessary to cross a 
deep ravine, apparently torn open by some terrible convulsion. 
The darkness of the abyss was rather increased than con- 
cealed by the alpine firs scattered along its sides ; while below, 
a rapid torrent rolled noisily along. The gloomy sublimity 
of the whole scene struck the vivid imagination of Hortense, 
and she remained for a moment in silent admiration. Her 



OF NAPOLEON III. 355 

deep feelings were too soon to be wounded by a more real 
horror. 

Their guides had hastily laid a narrow plank across the 
chasm as a bridge. Hortense, who first made the attempt, 
crossed with a firm, light step, and in perfect safety. Madame 
de Broc ventured in her turn. A sudden crash is heard, 
followed by a piercing shriek — Hortense turns and rushes to 
the brink, the plank had given way, and she sees the body of 
her unhappy friend, shooting from rock to rock, and over- 
whelmed at last in the waters of the torrent. There were no 
ropes at hand, and no ladder could have been long enough 
to reach the foot of the precipice. The guides never doubted 
her fate for an instant ; death was inevitable, and it was 
scarcely even to be hoped that the mutilated corpse might be 
carried far into the valley, and deposited where the care of 
friends could recover it for the last sad funeral rites. Over- 
whelmed with grief, Hortense lost every thought of her own 
escape from a similar fate in traversing the same frail plank. 
Her situation was really alarming, and the guides were 
obliged to lay hastily a stronger bridge and to cross to her 
assistance. Her oldest friend, she who had shared every wish 
and soothed all her sorrows, was thus torn from her by a 
sadden and fearful death. It was the most terrible shock 
sustained by Hortense, since the loss of her eldest son. When 
time and care had in some degree restored her to health, she 
sought to divert her grief by her customary occupations of 
beneficence. She founded a hospital at Aix, and devoted a 
great portion of each day to the distribution of money and 
medicine to its sick or indigent inmates ; accompanying her 
gifis with those kind expressions, which render charity yet 
more welcome and more efficacious. 

At length the hurricane which had been so long and so 
ominously gathering, burst in its full fury upon France. 
Every day announced to Napoleon the defection of an ancient 
ally, and every day the ranks of his enemies were swelled by 
(■/he diminution of his own forces. The utmost prodigies of 



856 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

valor were unable to save his country from invasion, and the 
capital itself was threatened by the hostile armies. 

Hortense, who had promptly returned to her mother at 
Navarre, read with painful anxiety the bulletins of the French 
array, and listened eagerly to the reports of the expresses. 
The unhappy Josephine, more attached to her husband now 
that fortune was false, shed bitter tears over the sad fulfilment 
of her predictions. At length she received despatches from 
a sovereign, who had once courted the friendship of Napoleon, 
and had deemed himself honored when treated as his equal. 
Times had indeed altered : we characterize the change almost 
in a word, when we add that the wife and daughter of the 
emperor were reduced to avail themselves of his protection 
as an enemy and a conqueror. Paris had capitulated : the 
armies of the allies were encamped in her squares, and their 
chiefs lodged in her palaces : while Napoleon, with his forces 
reduced to a handful of veterans, had abdicated the throne 
at Fontainbleau, and was retiring to his empire of Elba. 

In the letter of Alexander, the language of a victor was 
studiously disguised under the forms of the most delicate 
courtesy. He was so anxious to see the empress Josephine 
and her daughter, that he entreated them to return to Mal- 
raaison, unless they preferred receiving an early visit at 
Navarre. As an acknowledgement of this politeness, the 
mother set out immediately : but Hortense had duties to per- 
form towards Maria Louisa, whom she still regarded as her 
sovereign. The powerful protection tendered to her mother, 
removed all anxiety on that account ; and it was therefore 
incumbent on her to calm the apprehensions and share the 
perils of the second consort of Napoleon. She accordingly 
repaired to Rambouillet, where Maria Louisa, guarded by 
the forces of the coalition, was awaiting her future lot. It 
was speedily determined ; and when she had set out for 
Vienna with an Austrian escort, Hortense returned to her 
mother at Malmaison. Here Josephine appeared to have 
revived her ancient court of the Tuilleries. The more inti- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 357 

mately she became known to the allied monarchs, the more 
she was admired and respected ; and the arrival of her 
daughter increased the attentions of these illustrious visitors. 
Grace and amiability were hereditary in this family ; their 
triumphs were surer, milder, and more rapid than the con- 
quests of Napoleon. 

The solicitude of the allied monarchs for the future welfare 
of Hortense, was an immediate consequence of the interest 
she had inspired. " Remark," said they, " with what ease an 
enlightened people can abandon a chief who has raised them 
to such a pitch of power and glory. The military alone ex- 
hibit the least regret : all the rest rejoice in the change, 
though it is impossible for them to foresee its results. Observe 
all those courtiers eagerly crowding about the restored 
dynasty ! But yesterday, they were prodigal of the most 
solemn oaths of attachment to Napoleon : to-day, they pre- 
tend to have always hated and despised him, and win new 
titles to favor by bitter and scandalous libels against their 
fallen master. Believe us, princess, all the rare and noble 
endowments w^iich Heaven has lavished on you, will not 
suffice to fix the affections of the people : a power superior 
to the storms of revolutions, is the only safeguard against 
their fickleness and inconstancy. " Her august friends pressed 
her with these reasons to accept an independent sovereigntv. 

The philosophy of Hortense had been acquired in the 
school of misfortune, but it bore no similarity to that incul- 
cated by these clear sighted sovereigns. The obscurity of 
retirement seemed to her a yet safer asylum against the revo- 
lutions of kingdoms and the caprices of the people : but she 
had children, born in the purple, and brought up amidst the 
homage and respect of the highest dignitaries of the empire. 
The first impressions of education exercise an unconquerable 
influence over all the actions of life : those to whom e-randeur 
was a birthright, can never endure mediocrity or obscurity, 
unless endowed with more greatness of soul than commonly 
falls to the lot of mortals. Hortense, therefore, yielded to 



I 



358 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

the dictates of maternal tendernesss, in accepting for her 
children what was to her a subject of indifference ; but she 
still displayed her moderation, in taking much less than had 
been originally offered. At the request of the allied sove- 
reigns, Louis XYIII. erected St. Leu into a duchy for her 
advantage, with the right of inheritance vested in her children. 
The allied monarchs were equally anxious to confer a 
similar favor upon Josephine. She thanked them, but con- 
stantly refused ; with an indifference to power that seemed 
almost a presentiment of the early fate which removed her 
from her children and her friends. Her health had been so 
deeply undermined by the shock and affliction caused by the 
overthrow of the empire, that an indisposition, apparently 
trifling, became serious, and in a few days terminated in 
death. The spring is always damp at Paris ; but Malmaison, 
the empress's residence, being situated on the northern face 
of a hill and surrounded with woods, has more than its share 
of the general humidity. Josephine had been confined to her 
bed for several days, by an attack of sore throat. The king 
of Prussia paid her a visit to inquire after her health, and 
she imagined herself suflflciently well to rise and receive him. 
Alarming symptoms appeared the same evening ; the next 
day, the best of women, the mildest of queens, and the most 
affectionate of mothers and wives ceased to exist. 

It was now the second of June, 1814 : during four days, 
heaven, earth, and mankind, had been alike sad: for four 
days had elapsed since the death of Josephine had deprived 
humanity of its ornament and poverty of its protectress. 
Every road from Paris to Ruel and its environs was crowded 
with trains of mourners. The indigent were not here alone 

there are other misfortunes besides poverty. Sad groups 

thronged all the avenues, and I could distinguish tears even 
in the splendid equipages which came rattling across the 
court yard. 

From the fatal day of Josephine's death, until the 2d of 
June, the time appointed for the funeral, more than twenty 



OP NAPOLEON III. 359 

thousand persons beheld her for the last time. I do not in- 
clude the inquisitive stragglers, who availed themselves of 
this opportunity to obtain a sight of Malmaison ; and who, 
after making a slight obeisance to the state-bed, immediately 
inquired the way to the great Conservatory, or went off 
laughing to tease the wild beasts, A far greater number came 
to weep over the body of the empress, and kneeling, to offer 
their prayers for the repose of her soul. They visited with 
veneration the shrubberies she had planted, the fields she had 
tilled, and the plants watered by her own hands : while ad- 
miring her works, they seemed to enjoy a secret pleasure, in 
the very increase of regret. The young girls who had repaired 
to the melancholy spot, wept bitterly when they remembered 
the happy marriages of their associates, for whom the kind- 
ness of the empress had removed the opposition of interest. 
Old men sighed over their lost pensions, and the little enjoy- 
ments they had procured : while many a mother shed tears in 
grateful recollection of the conscript son, restored by the 
bounty of Josephine, who had removed him from active ser- 
vice, obtained his discharge, or hired the substitute. Even 
strangers accosted each other to relate some trait honorable 
to her memory. Grief, the great peace maker, reconciled 
many enemies on this solemn occasion, when everything was 
forgotten but the charity of her whom all lamented. Those 
who spoke of her soon felt the return of mutual kindness, for 
how could any one refuse forgiveness, near the tomb of her 
who had pardoned so much ? Thus her very memory was as 
powerful as her presence. The body of Josephine was laid 
out on a state-bed, surrounded with numerous tapers, in an 
antechamber leading into the room where she died. The 
antechamber was hung with black, without cyphers or escut- 
cheons : on the right of the entrance stood an altar, sur- 
rounded with chairs and sofas. The face of the corpse was 
covered with a cambric handkerchief, as it lay under the 
charge of two officiating clergymen belonging to the neigh- 






860 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

boring villages, together with the curate of Ruel, and four 
domestics. 

The solemn tolling of the bells of all the neighboring 
parishes summoned the faithful to pay the tribute of gratitude 
at the foot of the altar. The funeral took place at noon, 
with the greatest pomp, in the modest little church of the 
village of Ruel, belonging to the parish of Malmaison. 
The pall-bearers were the Grand Duke of Baden, the husband 
of Stephanie de Beauharnois, Josephine's niece; the Marquis 
de Beauharnois, brother-in-law to the empress, and formerly 
ambassador to Spain ; her nephew, the Count de Tascher ; 
and, I believe, the Count de Beauharnois, gentleman in 
waiting of Maria Louisa. 

The funeral train left Malmaison by the iron gate, and 
followed the high road as far as Ruel. General Sacken, who 
represented the emperor of Russia, and the adjutant-general 
of the king of Prussia, on the part of his master, walked on 
foot at the head of the procession, followed by a number of 
foreign princes, marshals of France, generals, and other 
French officers. Then came the banners of the various trades 
of the parish, with twenty young girls in white, chanting 
psalms : while two thousand mendicants of all ages brought 
up the rear. The whole route was lined with Russian hussars, 
and the National Guards. 

General Sacken was the bearer of a message from his sove- 
reign, to the relatives of the empress assembled at Malmaison, 
expressing his wish to devote the thirty-six hours he had yet 
to remain in Paris, exclusively to the excellent prince Eugene 
and his sister, as a testimony of deep affliction at the death 
of her majesty. The emperor, in fact, never quitted them 
until he set out for his dominions. 

Upwards of four thousand inhabitants of the neighboring 
districts, are understood to have assembled for the purpose 
of paying a parting homage to the memory of a princess, 
who had so justly earned the title of mother Of the poor and 
of the afflicted. Mass was celebrated by M. de Barrel, arch- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 361 

bishop of Tours, her chief almoner, assisted by the bishops 
of Evreux and Versailles : after the gospel, he pronounced a 
short but affecting funeral oration. 

The body of Josephine^ was placed in a leaden coffin, 
enclosed in one of wood, which was temporarily deposited in 
that part of the cemetery containing the remains of three 
hundred persons crushed to death in the Rue Royale, in 
returning from the exhibition of fire-works, in the Place Louis 
XY. in honor of the marriage of Louis XYI. and Marie 
Antoinette. 

On reaching the burial-ground, Hortense, who had pre- 
viously remained in one of the chapels of the church of Ruel, 
threw herself upon her mother's grave, to which she clung 
as if distracted, until forcibly removed from the melancholy 
spot. 

The ceremonies lasted until five o'clock in the evenins:. 
The whole household of the illustrious deceased were bathed 
in tears ; many strangers who were present, and who had only 
become acquainted with her since the restoration, wept in 
common- with those whom she had blessed or comforted. 

I had no wish to witness this spectacle : it was melancholy, 
with no accompanying consolation. Whilst the general 
sorrow was publicly expressed, mine was indulged in a 
different manner. I wandered among bowers planted by the 
hands of Josephine herself, and through their branches I 
looked out upon the fields she had cultivated and the cottages 
she had built. Even this sad delight, and the very shade 
which sheltered me, were all her work. Near me on the road, 

1 The body of Josephine reposes under a magnificent tomb of white 
marble, erected by her children. She is represented in her imperial 
robes, kneeling, and apparently praying for the welfare of France. 
"Eugene and Hortense to Josephine," is the only inscription. This 
beautiful monument stands in a side chapel, and is the work of that 
excellent sculptor, M. Cartelier. I cannot tell whether criticism has 
ever discovered any fault : I have wept too often over that statue not 
to believe it perfect. — Count de la Garde. 

31 



362 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

and far across the fields, crowds were hurrying towards Mal- 
maison and Ruel, whilst others were on the return. They 
met and exchanged a few words : the young girls shed tears, 
and then went mourning on their way. Sometimes I caught 
disjointed sentences borne to me by the wind : in all, the name 
of Josephine was pronounced by gratitude, and her charity 
commemorated by sorrow. 

Above the confused noises which re-echoed over the plain, 
came the sullen tolling of the bells, and every breeze seemed 
charged with their endless peals. To me, the wearisome 
monotony of the chiming brass, which knells alike for the 
good and the wicked, has ever appeared ill-omened. I strove 
to divert my attention by listening to the twittering of the 
birds : their concerts were occasionally interrupted, but they 
recommenced their songs with more subdued notes ; and there 
was something soothing in the sad thought, that from the 
very bench where I was then seated, Josephine had a thou- 
sand times enjoyed their music. 

The brightness of the day was obscured by dark clouds 
when I arrived at the church. It was hung with mourning 
for its departed benefactress. When a crowned head falls at 
the feet of death, vanity raises the diadem to decorate a 
coffin : here there was no pomp, no proud epitaph, but in the 
midst of tears and sighs, a thousand voices repeated and ever 
will repeat the name of Josephine. 

To the name of one so dear and who soothed so many sor- 
rows, gratitude would willingly add two more, which a pru- 
dent sorrow, it is said, should carefully suppress. On this 
subject I am equally ignorant and indifferent. I can only 
say that grateful remembrance acknowledges no other guide 
than the dictates of affection, and that Eugene and Hortense 
are invoked alike with the cherished memory of Josephine. 
Can there be any so unfeeling as to imagine tears formidable, 
or to consider grief a crime ? Sorrow never conspires. 

The following portrait of Josephine is from the pen of an 
intimate friend. Several years before a sudden turn of the 



OF NAPOLEON III. 363 

wheel of fortune had raised her to a throne, she had attained 
the utmost perfection of what was called her beauty : yet she 
was never strictly beautiful, if to entitle a woman to that dis- 
tinction, regularity of feature must be added to nobleness and 
elegance. A countenance animated by intelligence, and 
especially by feeling, is far more captivating than the cold 
perfection and symmetry so prized by artists in the models 
of antiquity. To these charms Josephine had no claim ; but 
every emotion of her mind was forcibly and rapidly depicted 
by the ever varying expression of her fascinating face. It 
was the mirror of her heart, adorned by every grace, and 
reflecting that general benevolence, which seeks in every 
suffering creature another subject for consolation and relief. 

Her benevolence, the leading trait in her character, was in 
truth universal. The same hand which lavished bounties 
without stint and sometimes without reflection, caressed a 
suffering animal, or sought to revive, by cultivation, a 
withered and drooping plant. Her feelings of charity suffered 
no change from the vicissitudes of fortune. When almost 
indigent at Fontainbleau, a strict economy enabled her to 
assist others yet more destitute than herself; while as an 
empress and a sovereign, her benevolence became as splendid 
as her prosperity. 

A heart so affectionate was indeed worthy of affection. 
When imperial France in the pride of victory beheld captive 
Europe at her feet, she bestowed on Napoleon the title of 
"great:" a medal struck to Josephine the beneficent, pro- 
claims the milder fame of the empress. Except Stanislaus 
and herself, I know but few sovereigns who have been tempted 
to deserve a similar surname — one, indeed, not to be gained 
by pensions heaped upon the minions of a court, but by acts 
of heavenly charity, done in the cottage of the poor, and near 
the sick bed of the unfortunate. 

Such is a brief sketch of all that will survive of Josephine 
— the envelope of so pure a soul may be described in a few 
words. It is pleasing to see a woman at once estimable and 



364 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

beautiful, and I have already said that in either point of view 
there was nothing wanting in Josephine. Yoltaire himself, 
like the court poets who were the plagiarists of his panegyric, 
would have applied to her, as he did to the Marchioness de 
Yillette, the famous epithet of Fair and Good. 

Her figure was of the ordinary height, but beautifully 
modelled. Every motion was marked by that pliant ease 
which was equally suited to the graceful attitude which 
painters love to represent in Yenus, or to the dignified de- 
meanor befitting the majesty of a queen. A constant change- 
fulness gave to her countenance, even when agitated by 
sorrow, an expression ever new and always attractive. Her 
eyes were large, deep blue, and shaded by slightly curved 
eye-lashes : the color of her hair, between dark and light, 
harmonized exactly with the tint of her complexion. All 
who have heard Josephine converse, and especially those who 
w^ere so fortunate as to hear her sing, must preserve a pleasing 
remembrance of the soft and winning tones of her voice. 
Without much compass and almost without art, (although she 
was a good musician,) the sounds possessed that tremulous 
melody which chords so well with the feelings of the listener 
The notes were scarcely above mediocrity, but the accents 
came from the heart and found the heart. While she was 
seated on the throne, her performance on the harp and piano 
was the theme of universal praise : it is true, however, that 
there are few queens, who, at least in their lives, have not 
enjoyed a reputation for virtue and talent. The abilities of 
Josephine appeared perhaps to less advantage in the empress 
than in Madame Bonaparte ; but on the other hand, none 
could surpass the virtues she displayed in imperial sovereignty. 

Besides these agreeable accomplishments, Josephine pos- 
sessed more solid acquirements. She understood botany 
thoroughly ; her taste for this favorite study erected the 
magnificent conservatories of Malmaison, which honor her 
memory almost as much as her pensions to the indigent. 
When her divorce had dispelled the magic dream of power, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 365 

and an abdication had exhibited the vanity of greatness, she 
found consolation in the sight of her beautiful exotics, 
warmed, even in exile, by their native sun. The imperial 
purple was replaced by a plain dress of muslin ; while the 
brow which once had glittered with royal jewels was still 
srowned, but it was now with a simple diadem of roses and 
violets. 

At the first intelligence of his mother's illness, Eugene set 
out instantly from Munich, where he had been welcomed by 
his father-in-law, the king of Bavaria ; but he arrived only 
in time to pay her the last honors, and. to weep with Hortense 
over her tomb. We shall not attempt to describe their afflic- 
tion. As a mother, no one was ever more affectionate than 
Josephine, or more deserving of love ; as children, Hortense 
and Eugene were every way worthy of their parent, and none 
could feel more deeply a similar calamity. 

As etiquette required the son-in-law of a reigning monarch 
to wait on the king of France in passing through Paris, 
Eugene paid a visit to Louis XYIII., after the expiration of 
the time prescribed for the observances of grief. He was 
unwilling on this occasion, either to style himself a German 
prince, or to assume any title recalling the days of the em- 
pire : with characteristic modesty and true French feeling he 
was therefore simply announced as General Beauharnois. He 
expressed his thanks to the king for the kind treatment ex- 
tended to his mother by the allied monarchs, and for the 
favors they had conferred upon his sister. 

Hortense was under a still greater obligation of gratitude 
towards Louis, and she consequently paid her respects to him 
on quitting her mourning. Both parties to this interview 
enjoyed a great reputation for conversational talent, although 
the style of each was extremely different. The wit of the 
king was academic, and its far-fetched refinement was con- 
stantly perceptible through the formal politeness of a court. 
Hortense, on the contrary, is ever frank and unaffected : her 
sensibility lends its hue to every thought, and her goodness 
31* 



366 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

of heart is expressed in every sentiment. The labor of dis- 
play and the coquetry were all on the part of the king, for 
Hortense had only to be herself to triumph in this little con- 
test. Louis, however, acquired some advantage, from his 
loud commendation of the merit of the princess with whom 
he had thus become acquainted. In a Bourbon, this praise 
of a member of the imperial family was almost magnanimity ; 
but while full justice was rendered him for the feeling, the 
courtiers and Parisians took care to add that he had turned 
a rank Bonapartist. 

The discontent of the partisans of Napoleon at the conduct 
of Hortense, though more suppressed, was much more 
enduring. They admitted no excuse for her visit to the king, 
for they could never forgive its reason. The article in the 
treaty of Fontainbleau, erecting the Duchy of St. Leu, was 
to them conclusive proof that the daughter of Napoleon 
wished to separate herself from the cause, and even from the 
remembrance of her father : they would never listen to the 
real motives we have already explained. Party spirit is 
strangely inconsistent : its approbation or its silence must be 
purchased by sacrifices, and yet these are only rewarded with 
obscurity and contempt. 

Louis Napoleon was by no means the last to attack the 
conduct of Hortense : perhaps, indeed, he was only taking 
advantage of her present unpopularity, to realize a scheme 
projected long before. A formal separation from bed and 
board already existed : he now claimed the possession of his 
eldest son — a claim of course refused by Hortense, The 
affair was referred to a legal tribunal, where it was still 
pending, when the news reached Paris of the landing of Na- 
poleon at Cannes. We may easily imagine that under such 
circumstances, all farther proceedings were suspended. The 
great arbiter soon arrived in his capital. ■ 

Napoleon, hailed everywhere by the people, and by the 
very troops despatched to oppose him, had reconquered 
France in traversing it : on the 20th March, 1815, without 



OF NAPOLEON III. 361 

striking a blow, he took possession of the Tuilleries. Hor- 
tense immediately requested an interview ; moved by affection 
for her adopted father, and anxiety to dispel the prejudices 
raised against her in his mind. The emperor at first refused 
to see her, but she persisted in her demand, feeling that every 
embarrassment would be well compensated by an interview 
with a beloved relative. Napoleon at length received her ; 
but it was with that stern look, severe eye, and frowning 
brow — with that aspect of Jupiter Tonans — which inspired 
more terror than even the reproaches pronounced by his lips. 
Strong in conscious innocence, the queen listened without 
impatience, and vindicated herself without difficulty. Napo- 
leon at length became convinced that there was no treachery 
in submission to events which could neither be foreseen nor 
controlled — no defection in natural anxiety for the welfare of 
her children, and in a residence in France when assured of a 
harsh reception everywhere else. He admitted that to return 
civility for kindness was not a fault — that there was no crime 
in showing gratitude to sovereigns who had given protection, 
when they might have exercised injustice and tyranny without 
a possibility of resistance or escape. In political revolutions, 
the obligations of a mother and a woman are far different 
from those of a man. The firmness of the latter, supported 
by native energy of mind and body, is recompensed by glory ; 
while none but milder duties remain to the humble and modest 
female. 

Louis Napoleon abstained from a personal appearance as 
the adversary of his consort ; contenting himself with despatch- 
ing an envoy from Rome with full powers. His deep anxiety 
was declared for a complete reconciliation with his brother, 
whom he had never seen since the abdication of the crown 
of Holland ; but the condition was annexed that a divorce 
from his wife should be permitted. As divorces had been 
formally abolished in 1814, the tribunal having cognisance 
of the suit for the possession of his eldest son, could entertain 
110 proceedings of that nature : he believed this, however, an 



868 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

excellent opportunity for the complete execution of his favorite 
project. The emperor received the individual charged with 
this mission, in a manner worthy of himself. "Let Louis," 
said he, "come when he will : he shall be well received, for 
he is my brother. As for his divorce, it is a mere whim, 
which I could not indulge even if our family contract was not 
diametrically opposed to it." Louis remained at Rome. 

As soon as Hortense had regained the esteem and affections 
of her father, she renewed her ancient habits of benevolence 
under the sanction of imperial authority. The Duchess of 
Orleans, a princess of the blood-royal, had broken a limb in 
attempting a precipitate flight from Paris on the arrival of 
the emperor. The solicitations of Hortense procured a per- 
mission for her residence in the capital, with a pension 
suitable to the high station she had lost ; and under the same 
auspices, a like favor was accorded to her daughter the 
Duchess of Bourbon. She interceded much longer, though 
with unequal success, for a less illustrious personage, the 
Baron de Yitrolles. His only crime was that of ardent de- 
votion to an unfortunate family ; and the emperor could now, 
better than any one else, appreciate the merit of such an 
attachment ; but he knew also that the baron had other claims 
to the gratitude of the Bourbons, and he was deaf to all the 
entreaties of Hortense. 

The news of the return of Napoleon startled the congress 
assembled at Yienna to partition his empire. A strong pro- 
test, issued against his fresh occupation of the throne, was 
followed by the immediate march of the armies of the allies. 
The troops of Prussia and the English forces occupying Bel- 
gium, from their proximity to France, naturally formed the 
vanguard of the coalition. Napoleon hastily assembled an 
army, which was less formidable from its numbers than from 
the ability and fame of the leader. By rapid marches, the 
junction of the Prussians and English was anticipated, and 
victory smiled for an instant before departing for ever. The 
fatal rout of Waterloo then hurried along Napoleon and the 



OF NAPOLEON III, 869 

wrecks of his guard, involving infantry, cavalry, artillery, 
and baggage, in one mass of hopeless confusion. Many 
officers and soldiers perished by their own hands, rather than 
survive so fearful a disaster. Great numbers of the wounded 
were preserved from Prussian barbarity by the humanity and 
friendship of the Belgians. The despair of the survivors 
who followed the retreat of Napoleon towards Paris, can 
only be compared to the glory they had won from the com- 
mencement of the battle until the close of the day. They 
resembled a funeral procession, as they stole silently from that 
bloody field which had twice resounded with their shout of 
victory. Every French soldier seemed a hero weeping over 
his country and her triumphs. The staff reached Jemappes, 
where a vain attempt was made to rally the means of defence. 
The very carriage of Napoleon had been lost, and a small 
wagon bore the victim of Waterloo to Philippeville, where 
he found the equipage of Marshal Soult. He entered a 
caleche with General Bertrand, who was destined never to 
leave him, until he had closed his eyes at the distance of three 
thousand miles from France. 

The allies had gained a great battle ; but this first tre- 
mendous disaster might yet have been repaired, had jSTapoleon 
found followers at Paris sincerely disposed to second his 
exertions. Fouch6, however, whom he had imprudently 
created a minister, busily excited the partisans of the Bour- 
bons : while on the other hand the representative chamber, 
jealous of the emperor's authority, thwarted all his measures, 
assumed the supreme control, and engaged in interminable 
debates while the enemy were at the very gates of the capital. 
The republican opposition was strengthened by a great body 
of royalists, who were not long in throwing off the mask. 
Napoleon was forced to a second abdication far more painful 
than the first ; for it was now his own subjects who hurled 
him from the throne, and threatened his very existence. A 
rapid succession of political concussions had awakened all 

Y 



370 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

those evil passions, wliich in times of anarchy always rage 
without restraint. 

The emperor, after laying down his authority, retired to 
Malmaison. The provisional government, to whom he was 
yet formidable, converted his asylum into a prison, and ap- 
pointed a jailor in the person of General Beker, an oflScer 
who owed his rank to Napoleon, and discharged the painful 
duties imposed on him with all possible respect for his former 
master. He was consoled by the reflection, that in fulfilling 
the instructions of the provisional government, he in reality 
protected the emperor from attempts upon his life. There 
was now this singular difference between Malmaison and other 
prisons, that it was more difficult to enter than to leave it. 

The gates opened, however, to admit Hortense, or rather 
she arrived at the same time with the illustrious captive. If 
Napoleon had not already appreciated her unbounded kind- 
ness and affection, he had here abundant proof of their ex- 
istence and sincerity. Could anything have enabled him to 
forget the extent of his misfortunes, or have interrupted the 
sad current of reflection on his own probable fate, and the 
future destinies of France, it must have been the presence of 
this angelic woman. Her ingenuity was unceasingly employed 
in devising new amusements to divert his mind ; her compas- 
sion found tears for irremediable evils ; her sympathy shared 
the weight of affliction ; while her enthusiasm roused his 
genius, by pointing to the glorious perspective, when his ex- 
ploits would be recorded in the brightest pages of history for 
the admiration of all posterity. 

Hortense would certainly have been excusable if she had 
directed a portion of this admiration to herself: she might 
justly have been proud of the unbounded self-devotion 
exhibited in defiance of the enemies of her family, who were 
sure to seek everywhere new food for their unmanly calumnies. 
The infamous libels in which these slanders were circulated, 
had been published after the first restoration, and must have 
been known to Hortense. She probably considered them 



OP NAPOLEON III. 3Y1 

unworthy of notice, for she was ever faithful to the motto of 
the arras of Holland, — " Do right, come what may." 

The moment of lasting separation at length arrived. 
Forced to abandon France, Napoleon set out from Malmaison 
for Rochefort, in order to embark upon that ocean which was 
to bear him he knew not whither. Neither Hortense nor 
himself could possibly conjecture his destiny ; and this uncer- 
tainty alone was sufficient to render their parting deeply 
afllicting : how much more painful would it have been, could' 
the queen have pictured to herself her father falling into the 
hands of his enemies, and perishing by a lingering martyrdom 
of five years, in a dreadful climate, on a little rock lost in the 
midst of the African ocean. 

The second restoration took place. The government, filled 
with old rancor and new exasperation, announced openly a 
bloody retribution ; while its gloomy distrust seemed to in- 
crease with the severity of its measures. Hortense was 
included in the circle of suspicion : she was accused of plan- 
ning and directing all the Bonapartist contrivances, though 
they really originated in the department of police. The 
administration, hypocritical in its justice and cowardly in its 
cruelty, got up daily some new conspiracy, as a pretext for 
oppression, and in order to involve the secret friends of the 
imperial sway. Injustice and suspicion are the proper attri- 
butes of weak and short-sighted rulers. Napoleon landed at 
Cannes — Hortense could alone have planned his return : he 
had traversed France, hurrying the whole nation in his train — 
Hortense must have poured out the treasures of corruption : 
his concealed partisans were now promoting everywhere 
rebellious disturbances — it was still the mysterious power of 
Hortense that encouraged and directed sedition. The same 
absurdity marked the behavior of the congress of Vienna 
towards Eugene, a prince eminently distinguished for his 
frank and honorable conduct. The return of Napoleon and 
his successes in France, were due neither to the machinations 
of a prince without power, nor to the weak intrigues of a 



372 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

woraan : instead of ascribing the origin of those great events 
to such remote and inadequate causes, we must look for it in 
the shameful conduct of the congress itself towards the people 
of every nation, and in the counter-revolutionary spirit of the 
Bourbons and their ministers. 

Hortense, now an object of suspicion, received orders to 
quit France without delay, and she accordingly set out, with 
her children, from Malmaison, on the Itth of July, 1815, 
Her travelling companion was Prince Schwartzenberg, whose 
situation was soon converted into that of a protector. When 
the party arrived at Dijon, they found the municipal authori- 
ties resolved to detain the princess as a prisoner. This act 
was certainly an apparent disobedience to their superiors at 
Paris, who had granted her a passport ; but perhaps, they 
were more complaisant in reality than in seeming. In those 
days of dark machinations, the higher powers frequently en- 
trusted their subalterns with the execution of odious measures, 
which, officially at least, they affected to disavow. Fortu- 
nately for Hortense, this part of Burgundy was occupied by 
Austrian troops. Prince Schwartzenberg immediately intro- 
duced himself to the city authorities, and demanded whether 
he must appeal to his soldiers for leave to proceed without 
interruption. Such arguments are irresistible, and the travel- 
lers reached Geneva without farther accident. 

The dominion of France was here at an end, but the 
troubles of Hortense seemed only to recommence. Imprison- 
ment was no longer a subject of apprehension, but the 
magistracy would suffer neither a residence in the city, nor a 
prosecution of her journey. It was clear that they wished 
her to return homeward, where open persecution was likely 
to be her lot. The Genevese, quite as scrupulous as the 
French ministry, had no objection to see those vexations 
inflicted by others, which they were too timid to take upon 
themselves. 

Were such sentiments worthy of proud republicanism ? 
The union of Geneva to France was their heavy subject of 



OF NAPOLEON III. 373 

complaint ag:ainst the emperor; but they had received the 
richest compensation. Their country had prospered beyond 
example : the reputation of her literati was extended by their 
admission into the institute of Paris : the youth of the canton 
had gained decorations and glory on the field of victory : 
titles of nobility had been gladly accepted by the dignitaries 
of the republic, and the department of the Leman — a part 
of the mighty empire of France — enjoyed far higher con- 
sideration than the petty State of Geneva — the most insignifi- 
cant of so^^ereignties, except its sister commonwealth of San 
Marino. 

If we concede the utmost extent of the alleged injury, it 
was still wrong to avenge the faults of Napoleon upon an 
innocent member of his family, and above all, they should 
never have selected as their victim, a female whose whole life 
was a continued stream of benevolence, fertilizing all that 
approached her. It was the same enchanting excellence of 
character, that now again extricated her from the danger by 
which she was menaced. 

The malice of the authorities of Geneva was exhibited 
rather in negotiations than in deeds. It was impossible to 
converse with Hortense for any length of time, without a 
feeling of devotion to her service ; and a short interview 
converted the most violent of the magistrates into penitent 
partisans. They assumed the responsibility of authorizing 
the continuance of her journey to Savoy, and afterwards 
excused this act of simple justice by specious pretexts of 
negligence or ignorance. 

Hortense at length reached Aix in Savoy, where a friendly 
reception was extended to her — the first since her departure 
from Paris. The inhabitants remembered her long stay 
among them, her liberal charities, and the hospital she 
had founded and so munificently endowed. If in the course 
of her travels she had hitherto met nothing but persecution 
and enmity, here at least were those who had no other senti- 
ments than peaceful kindness and unaffected gratitude. In 



374 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

treating her with all the respect due to her rank and misfor- 
tunes, the magistrates nobly expressed the feelings of the 
inhabitants. She was invited to remain at Aix, until the 
allied powers had designated her future residence. 

But It was decreed that henceforth her repose should be 
constantly disturbed. The calm and pleasing aspect of Savoy 
was suddenly overshadowed by the same melancholy gloom 
which had passed before her eyes after the tragical end of her 
dearest friend ; and the remembrance of that terrible calamity 
was revived by another misfortune, scarcely less afflicting, 
and wholly unexpected. The suit of Louis Napoleon for the 
custody of his eldest child, which had been interrupted by 
the ''hundred days," was afterwards resumed and carried to 
a judgment in his favor. An agent arrived at Aix, furnished 
with competent legal powers, and the queen was obliged to 
submit to this cruel decree of separation. 

The soul of Hortense had been already steeped in misfor- 
tune, but her power of endurance seemed at length exhausted. 
When she had embraced her son for the last time, and beheld 
the carriage depart that bore him away, a deep despondency 
overwhelmed her spirits. Her very existence became a dream, 
and it seemed indifferent to her whether her lot was to enjoy 
or to suffer, to depart or to be allowed to remain, to be 
persecuted, respected, or forgotten. She scarcely noticed 
the reply of the allied sovereigns, allowing her to reside at 
Constance ; and gave no orders whatever for her journey. 
Her attendants were compelled to repeat frequently in her 
presence the hints of the Savoyard authorities, who were 
exposed to the ill will of their government by her prolonged 
residence. Then, indeed, the fear of injuring those from 
whom she had experienced nothing but kindness, awakened 
her from her melancholy lethargy. 

She traversed Switzerland at the very season when nature 
assumes her most picturesque aspect; sublime views or 
smiling landscapes were constantly presented ; but she gazed 
on them as if her eyes were not those of an artist, and her 



OF NAPOLEON III. 815 

hands had forgotten their skill in sketching. Her imagination 
itself seemed torpid, for it rose to no enthusiasm before the 
green valley, the magnificent cascades, or even the snowy 
domes of Mont Blanc. Nothing could rouse her from this 
fatal lethargy but the approach of danger, and such an ex- 
citement was not long wanting. / 

Being again obliged to pass through the territory of Geneva, 
she now met with far less courtesy from the country people, 
than formerly from the citizens themselves. She had halted 
for a short time at a country-seat, formerly her mother's, and 
of course now her own. Yet the sanctity of a private dwel- 
ling was disregarded, and the house surrounded by a party 
of soldiers. These violent measures evidently proce-eded from 
no pure motive, but the courage and presence of mind of the 
princess disconcerted all the plots of her enemies. She went 
alone into the midst of the armed warriors who crowded 
around her : many recognized her, for nearly all had seen 
service in the imperial armies. "Behold me," she exclaimed, 
**I am the daughter of Josephine — the child of Napoleon — 
of him who loved you so well and led you to glory. Is this 
the crime of which I am accused ? I can never believe it. 
Return to your employers and thank them in my name : tell 
them of my gratitude for the pleasure of being again guarded 
by the soldiers of my father and of France." Every gesture, 
every word produced a magical effect on the hearts of the 
Genevese veterans. Respect, compassion, and admiration 
succeeded the low impulses of hate and revenge ; until at 
length, wholly overcome, they fell on their knees and wept at 
the feet of her whom haply they had come to assassinate. 

In travelling through the rest of Switzerland, Hortense 
encountered other obstacles and accidents of a less dramatic 
character ; but she at length reached the territories of the 
Grand Duke of Baden, and once again the wanderer breathed 
freely, as she recollected the near connection between that 
sovereign and herself. 

A sentiment of politeness induced Hortense to despatch a 



376 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

courier to the Grand Duke, to request permission to remain 
in Baden : but she felt so well assured of his friendship, that 
a simple notice of the selection of his duchy for her future 
abode seemed sufficient. What was her surprise when a 
chamberlain arrived with a most courteous apology from his 
master, who found himself, unfortunately, unable to allow the 
intended residence in his dominions. At this period the petty 
princes of Germany were a^ much exasperated against Napo- 
leon as the Swiss cantons, and in the same spirit they sought 
to gratify their vengeance by the persecution of his family. 
Some also, like the French municipality of Dijon, endeavored 
to win favor with their superiors by a gratuitous accumula- 
tion of vexations ; but it was still a most extraordinary 
exhibition of complaisance, to volunteer this inquisitorial 
rigor against a near connection. It is but just to remark that 
there were noble exceptions even among the minor sovereigns : 
for honorable and gallant men, however confined may be 
their rule, can never degrade themselves into police emissaries 
or subaltern tyrants. 

The health of Hortense— long weak and precarious — had 
suffered severely during this sad pilgrimage. In these moun- 
tainous regions, winter had already commenced his reign, and 
the inclemency of the elements was thus added to the injustice 
of man. N^^ only was there an urgent necessity for stopping 
somewhere, in order to enjoy the advantages of constant and 
careful nursing, but her fatigue of body and mind became so 
extreme, that she was entirely unable to pursue her journey 
The season of trial, however, was now fortunately approach- 
ing its conclusion. The king of Bavaria was informed of 
her critical situation, and immediately offered the wanderer 
an asylum in his dominions. Hortense had here the prospect 
of remaining unmolested for the future, with the additional 
pleasure of being near her brother, and of frequently enjoying 
his society. Augsburg was selected for her habitation, and 
she was residing in that city in 1819, when a French gentle- 
man had the honor of an introduction. We find in his pub- 



OF NAPOLEON III. 377 

listed travels in various parts of Europe, the following 
account of liis visit. 

"Returning to France in 1819, after a long residence in 
Russia, I stopped at Augsburg, where the Duchess of St. 
Leu was then a resident. She had formerly set to music 
some romances of my composition, and I used this as a pre- 
text for soliciting the honor of presentation. The obliging 
manner of her prompt answer gave additional value to the 
favor it conceded. 

" I had hitherto only known her by report. Some Russian 
ofi&cers who had accompanied the Emperor Alexander to 
Malmaison in 1814, had spoken to me of Hortense with so 
much enthusiasm, that for the first few moments, it appeared 
as if I saw her again after a long absence, and as if I owed 
my kind reception to the ties of ancient friendship. Every- 
thing about her is in exact harmony with the angelic expres- 
sion of her face, her conversation, demeanor, and the sweetness 
of her voice and disposition. When she speaks of an affecting 
incident, the language becomes more touching through the 
depth of her sensibility : she lends so much life to every scene, 
that the auditor becomes as a witness of the transaction. 
Her powers of delighting and instructing are almost magical, 
and her artless fascination leaves on every heart those deep 
traces which even time can never efface. 

" She introduced me to her private circle, which consisted 
of the two children and their tutors — some old officers of her 
household — two female friends of her infancy, and that living 
monument of conjugal devotion, the Count Lavallette. The 
conversation soon became general. They questioned me 
about the Ukraine, where I had long resided, and Greece and 
Turkey, through which I had lately travelled. In return 
they spoke of Bavaria, St. Leu, the lake of Constance, and, 
by degrees, of events deriving their chief interest from the 
important parts played by the narrators themselves. We 
dined at five. I afterwards accompanied the duchess into the 
garden, and in the few moments then enjoyed of intimate 
32* 



378 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

conversation, I saw that no past praises had ever been ex- 
aggerated. How admirable were her feelings when she 
recalled the death of her mother, and in her tragic recital of 
the death of Madame de Broc ! But when she spoke of her 
children, her brother, her friends, and the fine arts, her whole 
figure seemed to glow with the ardor of her imagination ; 
while goodness of heart was displayed in every feature, and 
gave additional value to her other estimable qualities. In 
describing her present situation, it was impossible to avoid 
mentioning her beloved France, the subject of her constant 
grief. 'You are returning,' said she, 'to your native coun- 
try :' and the last word was pronounced with a heartfelt sigh. 
I had been an exile from my cradle, yet my own eager anxiety 
to revisit a birth-place scarcely remembered, enabled me to 
estimate her grief at the thoughts of an eternal separation. 
She spoke of the measures adopted for her banishment with 
that true resignation which mourns but never murmurs. 
After two hours of similar conversation, it was impossible to 
decide which was the most admirable — her heart, her good 
sense, or her imagination. 

" We returned to the drawing-room at eight, where tea was 
served. The duchess observed that this was a habit learned 
in Holland: 'though you are not to suppose,' she added 
with a slight blush, ' that it is preserved as a remembrance 
of days so brilliant, but now already so distant. Tea is the 
drink of cold climates, and I have scarcely changed my 
temperature. ' 

"Numerous visitors came from the neighborhood, and 
some even from Munich. She may indeed regard this anxious 
attention with a feeling of proud gratification : it is based 
upon esteem alone, and as a tribute, is far more honorable 
than the tiresome adulations of sycophants while at St. 
Cloud or the Hague. In the course of the evening we looked 
through a suite of rooms, containing, besides a few master- 
pieces of the different schools, a large collection of precious 
curiosities. Many of these elegant trifles had once belonged 



OP NAPOLEON III. 379 

to her mother, and nearly every one was associated with the 
remembrance of some distinguished personage or celebrated 
event. Indeed her museum might almost be called an 
abridgment of contemporary history. Music was the next 
amusement, and the duchess sang, accompanying herself with 
the same correct taste which inspires her compositions. She 
had just finished the series of drawings intended to illustrate 
her collection of romances : how could I avoid praising that 
happy talent which thus personifies thought ? The next day 
I received that beautiful collection as a remembrance. Time 
will render it more precious, though I have ventured to render 
it less rare. 

'*I took my leave at midnight, perhaps without even the 
hope of another meeting. I left her as the traveller parts 
from the flowers of the desert, to which he can never hope to 
return. But wherever time, accident, or destiny may place 
me, the remembrance of that day will remain indelibly im- 
printed, alike on my memory and my heart. It is pleasing 
to pay homage to the fallen greatness of one like Hortense, 
who joins the rare gift of talents to the charms of the tenderesfc 
sensibility." 

It will be remarked in this extract, that Hortense had found 
again many of the elements of happiness. Though not re- 
united to her husband, his feelings towards her had been 
greatly softened. He had conferred the greatest and most 
affecting favor that a mother can receive, by returning their 
eldest son. Thus the current of her life glided tranquilly 
along, in the midst of all that could console an exile. Her 
children were about her, and she was surrounded by friends to 
whom she was almost an object of adoration : these, as she was 
wont to say, are far greater blessings than the submission of 
subjects, and the pride of royalty. 

The clearing of the political horizon now enabled Hortense 
to visit Rome and the family of Napoleon. Augsburg is no 
longer her place of residence ; she has selected in preference 
a country-seat called Lindau, on the banks of the lake of 



380 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Constance, which is equivalent to saying that its environs are 
romantic, and its prospects magnificent. It is here that she 
passes the summer months. 

Eugene and his consort paid her frequent visits, and upon 
one particular occasion, their stay was unusually prolonged. 
The emperor of Austria, who had contracted a third marriage 
with a Bavarian princess, daughter of Maximilian Joseph, 
came with the empress to visit his father-in-law. The cere- 
monial at the reception of his connections was of course 
regulated by German etiquette, and he hesitated in paying 
the like honors to the wife of Eugene, as to her sisters. IS^o 
doubt the same inflexible forms would have denied to Maria 
Louisa the precedence due to her exalted rank ; and she who 
was once the empress of the French and queen of Italy, now 
ranked at the Austrian court after the last of the arch- 
duchesses. The vice-queen was no sooner informed of the 
scruples of Francis, than she availed herself of a very simple 
expedient to extricate him from embarrassment, and herself 
from unmerited insult. She left Munich with her husband, 
and resided with Hortense until the departure of the emperor. 

The constant attachment of this estimable princess to her 
husband, was proved by the violence of her grief, when he 
was shortly afterwards carried off suddenly by a stroke of 
apoplexy. The loss of a brother, so affectionate and so 
fondly loved, seemed to revive in the sensitive mind of Hor- 
tense all her old misfortunes. Augsburg and Munich, where 
she had been accustomed to see him constantly, became insup- 
portable, and she resolved to pass her winters elsewhere. She 
now visits alternately Rome and Florence, always returning 
in summer to the banks of her favorite lake. It was at Rome, 
and at her country-seat of Arenemberg, that she became 
acquainted with an English lady of distinguished talents, who 
has given us the following sketch of the impressions received 
from her visits. 

*' The Duchess of St. Leu formed her principal establish- 
ment on the banks of the lake of Constance, where she was 



OF NAPOLEON III. 381 

less exposed to the hateful system of espionage, and farther 
removed from the bustle of the great world in which she had 
once reigned a queen. In this delightful retreat, she was 
accustomed to spend eight months of the year, passing the 
remainder of her time at Augsburg or Munich ; but, since 
the death of her brother, the painful remembrances constantly 
awakened by those cities, have induced her to transfer her 
winter residence to Rome or Florence. The summer brings 
her back to Arenemberg, and to the cheerful company of 
many of her dearest friends, especially the Grand Duchess 
Stephanie Beauharnois, and Madame Pasquier, formerly 
attached to the court of Holland. The style of living of the 
Duchess of St. Leu is sumptuous, without that freezing eti- 
quette so commonly met with in the great. Her household 
still call her queen, and her son prince Napoleon, or Louis ; 
but this is a mere habit, preserved through respect, and 
allowed from friendship. The suite is composed of two ladies 
of honor, an equerry, and the tutor of her younger son. She 
has a numerous train of domestics ; and it is among them 
that the traces are still observable of by-gone pretensions, 
long since abandoned by the true nobleness of their mistress. 
The former queen — the daughter of Napoleon — the mother 
of the imperial heir apparent — the relative of twenty kings 
— has retiirned quietly to private life, with the perfect grace 
of a voluntary sacrifice. 

"■ The duchess receives strangers with inexpressible kind- 
ness : ever amiable and obliging, she is endowed with that 
charming simplicity which inspires at first sight the confidence 
of intimate affection. She is a good listener, and remembers 
all who have ever approached her : at each successive inter- 
view you appear to have made a new advance in her regard. 
A pointed word shows that she has not forgotten the former 
conversation, and you are encouraged to continue the same 
subject by questions expressive of interest. She speaks freely 
of the brilliant days of her prosperity ; and history then flows 
BO naturally from her lips, that more may be learned as a 



382 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

delighted listener, than from all the false or exaggerated works 
so abundant everywhere. The dethroned queen, considers 
past events from such an eminence, that nothing can interpose 
itself between her and the truth. This strict impartiality 
gives birth to that true greatness, which is a thousand times 
preferable to all the splendors she lost in the flower of her age. 

'' I have been admitted to the intimacy of the Duchess of 
St. Leu, both at Rome and in the country : I have seen her 
roused to enthusiasm by the beauties of nature, and surrounded 
by the pomp of ceremony : but I have never known her less 
than herself, nor has the interest first inspired by her character 
ever been diminished by an undignified sentiment, or the 
slightest selfish reflection. 

'* It is impossible to be a more ardent and tasteful admirer 
of the fine arts than the duchess. Every one has heard her 
beautiful romances, which are rendered still more touching 
by the soft and melodious voice of the composer. She usually 
sings standing, and although a finished performer on the harp 
and piano, she prefers the accompaniment of one of her 
attendant ladies. Many of her leisure hours are employed in 
painting : miniatures, landscapes and flowers are equally the 
subjects of her pencil. She declaims well — is a delightful 
player in comedy — acts proverbs with uncommon excellence 
. — and I really know no one who can surpass her in every kind 
of needle-work. 

" The Duchess of St. Leu never was a regular beauty, but 
she is still a charming woman. She has the softest and most 
expressive blue eyes in the world, and her light flaxen hair 
contrasts beautifully with the dark color of her long eyelashes 
and eyebrows. Her complexion is fresh and of an even tint : 
her figure elegantly moulded : her hands and feet perfect. In 
fine, her whole appearance is captivating in the extreme. 
She speaks quickly, with rapid gestures ; and all her move- 
ments are easy and graceful. Her style of dress is rich, 
though she has parted with most of her jewels and precious 
stones. Among the remaining ornaments, I have held in my 



OP NAPOLEON III. 383 

hands the enormous chain-work, which bound the haughty 
standards of the Venetian republic, when they were sent by 
Napoleon to Paris, as a pretty present for the youthful 
Hortense." 

No. XYII. 
Rivals of Napoleon III. to the tlirone of France?- 
Napoleon III. wields an uncertain and precarious sceptre. 
No human foresight can anticipate or prevent the sudden 
explosion of a convulsion, by which he and his dynasty may 
be swept away forever. Should such an event occur, at least 
four prominent aspirants would be put forward by their par- 
tisans as legitimate inheritors of the sceptre which would 
have been wrested from the grasp of the deposed usurper. 
These are the Duke de Bordeaux, son of Charles X., who 
represents the elder Bourbonic race ; the Count de Paris, son 
of the late Duke of Orleans, and grandson of Louis Philippe 
of the house of Orleans ; a President, to be chosen by the 
Red Republican and the Socialist factions ; and a mysterious 
and singular personage who makes pretensions higher, older, 
and more exclusive than any of these. We refer to the indi- 
vidual known as the Rev. Eleazar Williams, who claims to 
be the real Louis XYIL, formerly the Dauphin of France ; 
and who regards himself, in his green and vigorous old age, 
as the rightful possessor of the diadem which now graces the 
brow of Napoleon III. The claims of Mr. Williams, which 
assuredly possess many strange and perplexing semblances 
to truth, have been put forth in an elaborate and formal 
manner ; and from time to time new facts are brought before 
the public which seem to confirm his pretensions. It may 
not be amiss to examine the subject, and present a confuta- 
tion of his claims. This is one of the most remarkable and 
curious problems involved in the arcana of modern history, 
and it deserves a thorough and careful investigation. 

^ The following Essay was prepared by the writer of this volume 
several years since ; and though not originally intended for this work, 
it may fitly have a place in a Napoleonic Miscellany. 



384 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Several resolute attempts have been made, at different pe- 
riods since the supposed death of Louis XYII., otherwise 
termed the Dauphin, to personate him, and to obtain the 
support of public approval in behalf of the assumptions of 
their authors. The first instance of this description occurred 
immediately after the Dauphin's death: a youth named Her- 
vagault appeared at Chalons, in France, who represented him- 
self as the unfortunate prince. This adventurer was the son 
of a tailor in the department of La Manche. As is always 
the case with pretenders of this kind, by addressing the spirit 
of credulity so powerful in the human breast, and possessing 
very considerable similarity of person to the sonof Louis XYI., 
he obtained for a time many followers. He subsisted during 
some months on their generosity, and ran a short career of 
luxury and prodigality ; after which, he and his groundless 
pretensions were quietly buried in the same oblivion. 

The next impostor was a person named Bruneau, who first 
represented himself as the son of a French noble named 
Baron de Yezin. He entered the French army, and served 
in America until he deserted. After various vicissitudes he 
reached France in 1815, where he boldly set forth his claims 
to the character and the rights of the Dauphin. This adven- 
turer, after producing some excitement, and gaining some 
adherents, was imprisoned by the government as a disturber 
of the public peace, after which he entirely disappeared from 
the notice of mankind. 

The third impostor of this kind was named Neundorf, who 
came upon the tapis during the reign of Louis Philippe. He 
is said to have discovered his identity with the Dauphin by 
means of mesmeric revelations. He also possessed some 
striking personal resemblances to the son of Louis XYI., 
and obtained many adherents. Several attempts were made 
to assassinate him, which added to his presumed importance, 
and constituted the strongest argument in favor of his claims. 
He was banished from France in 1838, after which he re- 
mained in England till 1844, at which period he died. 



OF NAPOLEON III. 385 

Instances such as these clearly evince, how easy it is to 
find plausibilities and coincidences in favor of almost any 
claim which may be made to identity with persons supposed 
to be long since deceased. Many similar cases occur in his- 
tory. Thus after the assassination of Paul I., the Czar of 
Russia, and husband of the great Catherine II., several im- 
postors arose at different times, and with such apparently 
unanswerable proofs of identity with the murdered sovereign, 
that they succeeded in convulsing the whole Russian empire 
with their formidable and desperate factions. 

The latest, and by far the most respectable, pretender to 
identity with the Dauphin, and hence to the throne of France, 
is the Rev. Eleazar Williams, a clergyman residing in Western 
New York. The arguments in his favor have been brought 
forward with considerable logical ability, by a clerical gentle- 
man ; ^ by whom the positive and circumstantial evidence in 
favor of the position that Mr. Williams is the lost Dauphin 
of France is marshalled, and commented upon, with clear- 
ness, force, and ingenuity. We propose to examine the argu- 
ment which he has thus elaborated, and to endeavor to show, 
that the facts which he adduces are uncertain and insuflBcient ; 
and that the conclusions drawn from them are illogical, and 
unwarranted by the evidence. 

The whole discussion of this question divides itself into two 
separate and distinct inquiries : — First, is the evidence that 
the Dauphin expired in the Temple in 1795, conclusive and 
satisfactory ? Second, if it be not ; if the Dauphin escaped 
both from the Temple and from the grave ; is the proof suffi- 
cient to warrant the assertion that Mr. Williams and the 
escaped Dauphin are one and the same person ? 

In investigating the facts connected with this argument, it 
is proper that a preliminary statement should be made, to 
which every impartial reader will accede, and that is, that no 

* Rev. J. H. Hanson, late Assistant Rector of Calvary Church, New 

York. 

33 z 



386 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

mere assertions of Mr. Williams on the one hand, or of the 
Prince de Joinville, his rival, who is equally interested, on 
the other hand, ought to be received, as logically conclusive 
arguments, unless they are supported by additional evidence ; 
inasmuch as the statements of both are liable to the fatal 
objection, that they may be dictated by personal interest or 
prejudice. Solid proofs, unanswerable facts, and not mere 
surmises and presumptions, however plausible and ingenious 
they may be, ought to have weight in determining one of the 
most important and intricate historical enigmas ever yet pro- 
pounded. 

Having premised thus much, let us proceed to the exami- 
nation of the evidence, as it appertains to the two points 
already stated. 

On the 21st of January, 1194, Simon, the first jailor of the 
Dauphin, left the Temple, and his connection with the un- 
fortunate Prince then ended. From that period till the 28th 
of July, 1794, the young prince had no particular keeper, 
but was supplied with bread and water by the ordinary 
attendants in the Temple, while he remained shut up in his 
dungeon, in a most pitiable and wretched condition. Now, 
here was a period of six months, during which, if a rescue 
would have been attempted by the friends of the royal family 
at all, it would have been most easily accomplished ; for 
though the iron door of the apartment was bolted and barred, 
yet, by the use of chemical agents, especially as the door, and 
the child's prison, were subjected to no scrutiny, the fasten- 
ings might easily have been removed. Besides, it was during 
this period that the prince's room was in darkness ; was 
never opened, ventilated, or swept ; and consequently, if any 
substitution had been attempted or made, it would not easily 
have been detected. And the inference is a very fair one, 
that if no rescue was attempted during this long and propi- 
tious interval, by the friends of the Dauphin, they would not 
make the effort at any later and more unfavorable period. 

Now was any substitution made in the person and place 



OF NAPOLEON III. 387 

of the Dauphin during this interval ? The answer is, there 
was none. It is not even pretended that there was any. It 
is admitted on all hands, that on the 28th ot July, 1T94, 
when Barras became inspector of the Temple, and he first 
learned the horrid condition of wretchedness to which the royal 
child had been reduced, he obtained the appointment of Lau- 
rent as the keeper of the prince, and some amelioration of his 
condition immediately took place. It is conceded that, during 
the attendance of Laurent, the prince was seen by many per- 
sons who recognised and identified him. After some time 
Gomin, in heart a royalist, was appointed to assist Laurent 
in his duties. Some months elapsed when Laurent obtained 
his dismissal from his ungrateful task, and Lasne, the last of 
the keepers of the prince, was installed in his place. Now this 
same Lasne had been a soldier. He had served in the Garde 
Franraise, and later in the Garde National In the latter 
body he attained the rank of captain, and had served on duty 
at the Tuilleries, while the royal family resided in confinement 
there. At that time he became familiar with the person of 
the Dauphin. Hence it was that he was able to recognize 
the young prince as soon as he became his keeper, and was 
also able to recall to his mind the cheering personal recollec- 
tions with which it is said he diverted his captive. 

Now Gomin and Lasne both testify to the identity and to 
the death of the Dauphin. Do they falsify ; and were they 
accessory to his escape ? For it must be admitted that, if he 
escaped at all, it must have been with their connivance and 
their knowledge. As to Lasne, he was a decided Republican, 
appointed to his post by the Republican interest, and it can- 
not be supposed that he would aid in such a measure. 
Gomin, on the contrary, was a concealed Royalist ; he was 
selected as the direct agent of the Count de Provence, after- 
ward Louis XYIII. — and the question arises, whether the 
Count de Provence was favorable to the escape of the prince 
or not ? It is admitted by the advocate of Mr. Williams, 
that the "Count de Provence was anxious to obtain save' 



888 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

reignty,^^ at the period of tlie coiifineraent of the Dauphin, 
as well as ever afterward ; so much so, indeed, that he sub- 
sequently did ascend the throne as Louis XYIII., at the 
first opportunity which was offered. Now though the Count 
proclaimed himself Regent, at the time when he proclaimed 
the Dauphin king as Louis XYIL, yet regencies, he well 
knew, were dangerous and insecure. Moreover, a regency 
did not satisfy his ambition, and hence, as he was anxious to 
reign alone, the release or escape of the Dauphin would have 
placed an insurmountable barrier to his ambition. If, there- 
fore, Gomin was a creature of the Count de Provence, as he 
undoubtedly was, his orders would have been, if he had any 
at all, to prevent the escape of the captive ; and as his suffer- 
ings had already nearly proved fatal, and his recovery hope- 
less, to let him remain, and to let him quietly die. It is very 
justly observed by the partisan of Mr. Williams, that "the 
only chance for the Royalists in 1Y95 seemed the possesssoa 
of the right of succession by a strong man." That strong 
man was the Count de Provence, and not the imbecile and 
dying prince. It is admitted on the other side, that the 
Count de Provence was a man of so little principle " that he 
corresponded with Robespierre himself ; that he was known 
to have been most anxious to obtain royal power, and was 
naturally impatient of the intervening obstacle." 'Now this 
being the case, what possible motive had he to obtain the 
release of the Dauphin ? The latter, it was known, was has- 
tening to his grave ; it was believed that his sufferings, if 
they continued, would inevitably lead to that result ; and the 
lengthened captivity of the Dauphin would not only compass 
the end desired by the ambitious Count, but at the same time, 
would throw all the odium of the murder on the Republican 
party. Under these circumstances, and with such principles, 
it w^ould have been the greatest possible insanity on the part 
of the uncle of the captive, to interfere in his condition ; and 
it is clear that his uncle was the only person who could have 
interfered effectually for his release. It is probable, even, 



OF NAPOLEON III. 389 

that he would exert his influence, and employ his intrigues, 
to prevent hi? escape. 

The apologist for Mr. Williams adds, "that it was only 
necessary that there should be the appointment of a Royalist 
Commissary, who would lend himself to the plot, to effect 
the removal of the Prince." This is doubtful; for would 
Lasne, an acknowledged Republican, assist this purpose ? 
Would Tourin, the obsequious creature of the ambitious and 
unprincipled Count of Provence, aid in this escape ? And 
more than all, would the Convention appoint any known 
Royalist as Commissary of the prison, whose jurisdiction was 
absolute there as its inspector ? And even if the Con- 
vention would make such a singular and dangerous appoint- 
ment, there is not the slightest "proof on record, and none is 
adduced by our opponent, that such a Royalist Commissary 
ever was appointed. It is in the absence of all such proof, 
and even in the face of strong probabilities to the contrary, 
that the presumption is set up, that it is prohahle the escape 
of the Dauphin was planned and effected, and that by some- 
body, but nobody knows by whom ! 

But it is urged that, after the alleged death of the Prince, 
and when the post mortem examination was made by four 
eminent physicians appointed by the Convention, it was found 
that the deceased child had but two tumours, one at the 
wrist and the other at the knee ; whereas it is alleged that the 
Dauphin was afflicted with tumours at all his joints, and par- 
ticularly at his knees. From this discrepance it is urged that 
another sick child had been substituted for the Dauphin. 

Now, the answer to this argument is plain. The examin- 
ing physicians, in their j^^^oces ver^bal, expressly declare that 
they inspected the remains, and ^'opened the body of the 
son of the deceased Louis Capet. ' ' Two of these physicians 
had attended the Dauphin during his lifetime, ever since the 
death of Dessault ; they had attended him while Lasne had 
been, as he remained till the Dauphin's death, his keeper; 
Lasne had known the person of the Dauphin while at the 
33* 



390 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

Tuillenes and before his captivity at the Temple ; and thus 
the chain of personal recognition was kept up, without any 
mistake or imposition, from the residence of the Prince at the 
Palace of the Tuilleries, till his supposed decease. Had 
there been any substitution, the republican Lasne would have 
detected and exposed it. He would have made it known to 
Dnraangin and Pelletan when they arrived, and these physi- 
cians would never have certified under oath, to the National 
Convention, that they had dissected "the body of the son of 
the deceased Louis Capet," had they entertained any sus- 
picion of an imposition. 

The next position of importance assumed by the advocates 
of the escape of the Dauphin is, that Bellanger, who was also 
in the pay of the Count de Provence, and was an artist, had 
interviews with the Dauphin ; that he painted his likeness, 
and that he was the agent in his removal. Now, aside from 
the fact that there is a strong presumption in favor of the 
position, that the Count de Provence did not desire, and 
would not aid in the escape of the Dauphin, another difficulty 
arises in the way of this argument. They urge that Bellanger 
"stabbed a man in a political quarrel in France, and fled for 
safety, and that he carried the Dauphin with him." The im- 
probability of this story must be apparent to every one. To 
effect such a purpose as the escape of the Dauphin from the 
Temple, in the face of a hostile and vigilant nation, required 
great secresy, composure, and leisure. The condition of a 
man about to flee for his life, after the commission of so great 
a crime as murder, is surely the least propitious situation 
under which to effect such a purpose. But then, " Bellanger 
declared on his death-bed, that he had brought the Dauphin 
to this country." Granted : but may not this declaration of 
his have been made in the disordered wanderings of a failing 
and exhausted intellect ? The last hours of expiring nature, 
when reason totters on her trembling throne, and deranged 
physical action may, by sympathy, affect the clearness of the 
mind — that, surely, is no situation favorable to accurate and 



OF NAPOLEON III. 391 

reliable statements on any subject. And statements made 
under such circumstances, are not sufficient foundations on 
which to base the truthfulness of great historical facts, in the 
absence of all other satisfactory proofs. If Bellanger made 
this statement, and if when made, it was a true one, he would 
have pointed out additional proofs ; he would have produced 
papers, relics, and other collateral evidences, to substantiate 
so singular and so remarkable a disclosure. But he did 
neither ; though the motive which would have induced him to 
make the statement in the first place would have also induced 
him to furnish the additional evidence to substantiate it, had 
he made it, or had it been true when made. It is a most im- 
probable statement, for as yet there is nothing but a state- 
ment — that Bellanger would have simply revealed so vast a 
secret, and not referred to or produced some corroborating 
proof, as he easily might have done, had the statement been 
true. 

But still further positive evidence may be adduced to esta- 
blish the death of the Dauphin in the Temple, and to prove 
that no substitution had taken place. M. Dessault was the 
first physician sent by the Convention to attend the suffer- 
ing Prince. He had also been the physician of the Royal 
family previous to their imprisonment. He therefore knew 
the person of the Dauphin well. His attendance on him con- 
tinued after Lasne, his last personal attendant, who had also 
known him at the Tuilleries, was placed near him. Both of 
these individuals, therefore, recognised the person of the 
Dauphin after the six months of suspicious neglect, which 
immediately followed the dismissal of the brutal Simon. And 
Lasne and Gomin both declare that they were present with 
the surgeons at the last inspection of the body, and that no 
question then arose in the minds of any as to the identity of 
the remains. 

The sister of the Dauphin, the Duchess d'Angoul^me, who 
saw the corpse of her brother before its interment, describes 
the miserable appearance of the corpse, the sad havoc which 



392 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

the disease had made in his once beautiful features, and pro- 
ceeded to particularize as to his appearance. Yet, she never 
for one moment questions the identity of the remains. Is it 
possible that a sister should not have known and recognised 
the body of a beloved brother ? Any position that would 
wish to force such a supposition, or that would assert, that 
the keen penetration of a sister's love could be imposed upon 
by a substitution, must be most absurd. And yet such is the 
dilemma to which our opponents are driven, in evading the 
testimony of the princess d'Angouleme. She could not 
recognise her own brother when dead, though only separated 
from him two years, during which time she had seen him ou 
several distinct occasions I 

We proceed now to the second class of arguments and 
facts connected with this interesting inquiry : — those which 
it is alleged establish the claims of Mr. Williams as being 
the Dauphin of France, or Louis XVII. 

We will begin in the order of time with that argument 
which first served to establish the convictions of Mr. Williams 
himself on the subject — his famous interview with the Prince 
de Joinville. It is alleged by Mr. Williams that when the 
Prince visited the United States in 1841, he sought a meet- 
ing with Mr. Williams ; stated to him that he was the son 
of Louis the XYI. ; and wished him to abdicate his claim to 
the throne of France, in exchange for a splendid establish- 
ment, and the restoration of all the property which had 
belonged to that sovereign ; and that, after the deliberation 
of some hours, he (Mr. Williams) refused the offer. Now, 
we must here apply the principle of reasoning laid down at 
the commencement of this argument ; that the mere private 
statement of the interested parties should not be received as 
testimony ; — that they are not competent and admissible 
proof in a case like the present ; because both are liable to 
the influence of interest. Mr. Williams solemnly asserts that 
this proposal was made. The Prince de Joinville as posi- 
tively asserts that such is not the fact ; and that nothing of the 



OF NAPOLEON III. 393 

kind ever occurred. Here one denial balances the other ; 
one assertion is equal, as evidence, to the other. That is to 
say, both are worth nothing. Hence, in examining the claims 
of Mr. Williams, we must throw entirely out of the question 
this interview, and proceed precisely as if it never occurred. 
No argument on either side can be based on the mere state- 
ments of either party to the dispute. 

It cannot be said in answer to this position, that there is 
collateral proof in favor of Mr. Williams' declaration. His 
advocate asserts that he has convicted the Prince of false- 
hood in one part of his denial at least : that while the Prince 
declares the meeting in question to have been purely acci- 
dental, there is proof that he sought an interview with Mr. 
Williams. Now, in the first place the Prince does not say 
that the meeting was accidental. His language is merely as 
follows : " The Prince finding himself at Mackinaw, met on 
board the steamboat a passenger whose face he thinks he 
recognises in the portrait given in PutnaiiVs Monthly Maga- 
zine." The Prince may have " met" Mr. Williams by acci- 
dent, or by concert and design, so far as anything appears 
from the language of this letter. The Prince does not de- 
scribe how he "met" Mr. Williams; but simply states the 
fact of the meeting ; and it is putting a forced construction 
upon the language of the writer, to say that, by these words, 
he wished to give the idea that the meeting was purely 
accidental. 

Nor is it true, that the advocate of Mr. Williams convicts 
the Prince of falsehood in any sense. For the testimony of 
Captain Shook and others, who were present at the inter- 
view, to show that it was sought for, does not refer to the 
subject of their private conversation ; but they simply certify 
to the fact that the Prince made inquiries about Mr. Wil- 
liams, and desired to see him. Now why did he desire an 
interview with Mr. Williams ? The Prince was making that 
entire tour upon the Northern Lakes, in order to obtain his- 
torical and geographical details respecting the early French 



394 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

settlements, and the Indians who had been in intercourse with 
the French settlers. He had learned that the most intelligent 
and reliable resident in all those regions was the Rev. Mr. 
Williams himself. He therefore desired to make his acquaint- 
ance, more than that of any other person ; hence he inquired 
after him; and hence he "met" him. Now it is possible 
that, in the private interview which followed between them, 
the Prince may have informed the missionary that there was 
a very striking resemblance between his appearance and that 
of the elder branch of the Bourbon family, and it is possible 
that Mr. Williams, overcome by the mental agitation occa- 
sioned to an individual of his excessive timidity and nervous- 
ness, by the familiar intercourse of so distinguished a person- 
age as the Prince, might, in his confusion, have imagined 
that the Prince added to that remark, that he belonged to 
that family ; or, perhaps, that if he did not know the Dauphin 
to be dead, he would have supposed that Mr. Williams was 
he. Such might have been the origin of the honest delusion 
under which Mr. Williams rested. But it is absurd to say, 
that any evidence has yet been adduced to convict the Prince 
of falsehood, in the statements contained in his communica- 
tion in reference to the famous interview. 

There are other facts which render the occurrence of this 
alleged proposal of the Prince exceedingly improbable, aside 
from the fact of his positive denial of it. First of all, is it 
likely, that Mr. Williams would have rejected such an offer ? 
We answer, placing equal reliance on the statement of the 
clergyman and the prince, — that is, throwing them both out 
of the question, we believe it to be the most improbable thing 
that was ever narrated. Mr. Williams then lived, and still 
lives, in one of the most dismal, cheerless, and forlorn • spots 
on the face of the earth ; his labors are great, and his com- 
forts and means of living very small. Would he not have ex- 
changed these deprivations for a splendid establishment, and 
immense wealth, in this country or in France, on any condi- 




OP NAPOLEON III. 395 

tions, not involving moral dereliction ? He must have been 
either more or less than human, not to have done so. 

Again, why was it that Mr. Williams took no copy of the 
remarkable instrument of writing he was requested to sign ? 
Why did he retain no marks or proofs whereby to establish 
the occurrence of so extraordinary an event ? His neglect 
of this precaution would seem to be the most astounding 
thing on record. The answer is, in spite of Mr. Williams's 
delusion to the contrary, that the reality never occurred He 
himself questions in his journal of that date., as well he 
may, whether these incidents were a ^'reality or a dream.'' ^ 
He himself seems doubtful as to which of these it actually 
was. We believe it was the latter. We believe that the 
excited or confused imagination of the missionary was struck 
with the remark, perhaps, that he closely resembled the Bour- 
bons, or particularly the dead Dauphin ; that in dwelling 
upon it in thought, he gradually clothed this airy nothing 
with a "local habitation and a name ;" that the " wish then 
became father to the thought;" and that he at length per- 
suaded himself, as men have done in thousands of similar in- 
stances, that what he desired or imagined, actually possessed 
a sober reality. 

This alleged proposition of the Prince de Joinville pre- 
sents itself in another aspect. It is most improbable for this 
reason : that the Prince is represented as having taken no 
precautions whatever to secure secresy, in case his overtures 
should be rejected ; and no precautions to prevent Mr. Wil- 
liams from taking ample proof of the reality of the proposals 
made to him. Now the Prince expected either that Mr. 
Williams would accept or that he would refuse them. If he 
accepted the proposals, and signed away his throne, no danger 
or scandal would accrue from the subsequent publicity of the 
event. But if, on the contrary, Mr. Williams refused, and if 
he took any evidence of his refusal, as the facilities afforded 
him by the Prince's occasional absence from the room would 
have easily allowed him to do, if it could have been done, 



396 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

then, the pubh'cation of such an interview, corroborated by 
such proofs, would have been at least a source of great scandal, 
and a cause of much anxiety to Louis Philippe, who even 
then sat very insecurely upon his precarious throne. How 
easy would it have been for Mr. Williams to have taken a 
copy of the proposed abdication ? How easily might he have 
taken an impress, and a pencil fac-simile of the ancient royal 
seal of France, which, as he asserted, lay by him for some 
hours. Now the Prince could not foresee that Mr. Williams 
would not have had sagacity enough to secure these proofs ; 
and, in case of his refusal to accept, to have published them. 
And yet the Prince, according to Mr. Williams's own state- 
ment, took no means whatever to prevent so unpleasant a 
contingency. Surely the Prince de Joinville never before or 
since acted with so little shrewdness. 

In support of his assertions Mr. Williams maintains that he 
received several letters from the Prince, after his departure to 
Europe, corroborative of his statements ; and that Louis Phi- 
lippe, the father of the Prince, also addressed him an auto- 
graph letter of the same import. That some letters may have 
been received by Mr. Williams from these personages may be 
true. But there is no evidence as to their contents. An 
allusion to them is in fact positively injurious to the claim of 
Mr. Williams, because, contrary to all common prudence, and 
the ordinary conduct of rational men, he has destroyed those 
very letters, as he himself declares. Now the excuse urged 
by Mr. Williams for taking no copy, and for reserving no 
proof, of the parchment, and of the interview with the Prince — 
namely, the sudden hurry and agitation of the scene, and the 
consequent confusion of his min-d — cannot be urged in excuse 
for destroying these only additional evidences which were 
subsequently, as he alleges, placed in his possession. If de- 
stroyed at all, they were destroyed deliberately, after calm 
reflection as to what had best be done with them. Mr. Wil- 
liams doubtless concluded that their existence, if they existed 
at all, would operate unfavorably to his pretensions : accord- 




OF NAPOLEON III. S97 

ingly they were destroyed. This part of the history of the 
connection of the family of Louis Philippe with the case, is 
most conclusively prejudicial to the claims of Mr. Williams to 
the Dauphinship of France, in the mind of every impartial 
observer. 

But it is said Mr. Williams recognised the portraits of 
Simon, and of Madame Elizabeth, the sister of Louis XYL; 
and yet it is stated also, that he could not recognise the 
likeness of Louis XYL, his father, or of his mother, Maria 
Antoinette, both of which were shown him at the same time. 
Is it in accordance with common sense to suppose that the 
Dauphin, if he now lived, would, after the lapse of many 
years, recognise the portrait of a stranger, and not be able to 
recognise the portraits of his parents, whom he had seen far 
more frequently, and that on much more intimate and familiar 
terms than they ? Nor is it urged that Mr. Williams, when 
he recognised the two former portraits, stated whose they 
were ; — he merely declared that he recollected to have seen 
the originals. Consequently his remembrance of the portrait 
of the savage Simon amounts to nothing, so far as its weight 
as testimony is concerned. Had Mr. Williams been able to 
tell whose portrait it was, and some of the facts connected 
with it, his recognition might have had some value. It 
might indeed be true that the memory of such a countenance 
" had haunted Mr. Williams through life ; " and yet, that 
countenance, which he did remember, might just as well have 
belonged to some semi-barbarous wretch, some half-man half- 
demon, in the frontier solitudes of the western world, as to 
the rabid and brutal French Jacobin, who tortured the un- 
happy Dauphin in the Temple. 

The advocate of Mr. Williams, after elaborating an argu- 
ment of great ingenuity in his favor, has arranged all the 
strong points of his ease under twenty-six heads. We will 
re-state the substance of each of these positions, in their order, 
and append what we suppose to be a conclusive answer to 
each of them. It is said : 
34 



398 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

1. That the Prince de Joinville informed Mr. Williams, 
in a private interview in 1841, that he (Mr. Williams) was 
the Dauphin. 

This assertion of Mr. Williams is denied by the Prince in 
the most positive manner ; and as both parties are equally- 
interested, and equally respectable, the denial of the one is 
paramount in weight to the assertion of the other. 

2. That Louis Philippe, late King of the French, wrote to 
Mr. Williams with his own hand, on the subject of his royal 
descent. 

There is no proof of this fact, because Mr. Williams has 
destroyed these letters, as he himself admits. Their destruc- 
tion, if they ever existed, is itself an argument against him. 

3. That Bellanger when dying confessed that he had brought 
the Dauphin to this country. 

There is no evidence of this fact but a mere unsupported 
rumor. The dying declarations of men are sometimes very 
erroneous, being merely the result of the derangement of 
mind. Bellanger did not say that Mr. Williams was the 
Dauphin. He did not assert that the Dauphin was even 
alive at the time of his own death. 

4. That the French Ambassador, Genet, acknowledged 
that the Dauphin was in this country in 1811. 

This was but the private opinion of M. Genet ; nor did he 
furnish any evidence whatever to those to whom he com- 
municated this surmise, upon what he based it. 

5. That Le Kay Chaumont, in dealing with the Indians, 
once made a remote allusion to the Dauphin. 

His allusion is so very remote, that it is worth nothing ; 
as it did not furnish any particulars, or give the least infor- 
mation on the subject. 

6. That Col. de Ferrier, one of the body-guard of Louis 
XVI., lived near Mr. Williams at Oneida, and believed that 
a member of the family of Louis XYI. was somewhere in 
America, and in indigent circumstances. 

If Col. de Ferrier was so near Mr. Williams, in the same 
neighborhood as is represented, and had known the Koyal 



OF NAPOLEON III. 899 

family in France, be would inevitably have recognised the 
Dauphin, and proclaimed the fact of his identity. His belief 
that a " member of the King's family" was in this country, 
is too remote and indefinite an allusion to be of any weight. 
His belief might have referred to some other member, legi- 
timate or illegitimate, of the Bourbon race. He never speci- 
fied the Dauphin as the subject of his reference, which fact is 
itself suspicious. 

1. That the Abbe de Chalonne and Bishop Chevreuse 
believed the Dauphin to be in this country. 

We have no evidence as to the foundation of this belief. 
And even if its foundation has been sufficient and satisfactory, 
it does not designate Mr. Williams, more than a million of 
other persons on this continent, as being the subject of that 
belief. 

8. That strenuous efforts have been made by members of 
the Roman Catholic Church to convert Mr. Williams to their 
faith, which are only explicable on the ground that he is 
more than an ordinary person. 

The proselyting zeal of the Boman Catholic Church is 
very great under all circumstances. Mr. Williams is a respect- 
able Protestant clergyman, and his conversion would, on that 
account alone, be a subject of unusual importance and inte- 
rest. He would be a valuable accession ; and his influence 
over the Indian population of Western New York would add 
very much to the value of his acquisition. 

9. That the name of Eleazar Williams is omitted in the 
baptismal register at Caughnawaga where he was reared. 

So are the names of hundreds of other baptized persons 
accidentally omitted in the United States, each one of whom 
would have an equal claim to Dauphinship, on that ground, 
with Mr. Williams. 

10. Mr. Williams has none of the characteristics of the 
Indian race. 

It is granted ; and according to his own showing, he ought 
not to have ; because his Apologist asserts himself, that Mr. 
Williams is of English origin, and hence ought not to 



400 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

exhibit the characteristics of an Indian. He says expressly : 
the Williams family are of English origin. It would cer- 
tainly be very singular if Mr. Williams, being of English de- 
scent, should resemble the Indian race. But we cannot admit 
that because Mr. Williams is of English origin, that therefore 
he is entitled to the throne of France, or to being regarded 
as the son of Louis XVI., or that he is even a Frenchman. 

11. That he closely resembles Louis XYIII. in his per- 
sonal appearance. 

Personal resemblances are of such frequent occurrence, and 
so ordinary in the daily observation of every one, that they 
are worth nothing as evidence in a case of this description. 
All the false claimants before Mr. Williams had the same or 
greater personal resemblance to the Bourbon family. 

12. Various marks on his body correspond exactly with 
the marks on the Dauphin. 

There is conflicting testimony as to what the marks on the 
real Dauphin actually were ; whether he had swellings on all, 
or only on some of his joints. Mr. Williams has traces of 
scrofulous disease only on the knee. So have ten thousand 
other persons in this country, none of whom claim to be the 
Dauphin on that ground alone. 

13. The Dauphin was omitted in the religious solemnities 
for the departed Bourbons, in the reign of Louis XVIII. ; 
thus proving that he was supposed to be still alive. 

Masses are not said by the Roman Catholic Church for 
the souls of those who die in infancy and extreme youth, as 
was supposed to have been the case with the Dauphin. Even 
if the real Dauphin was believed to be alive in 1811, that 
does not designate Mr. Williams to be the person ; or prove 
him to have been regarded as such by the French Govern- 
ment at that time. 

14. That his reputed Indian mother does not recognise 
him as her son. 

This is simply absurd ; because if she did not recognise 
nim as her son, how could she be regarded, as she is admitted, 
on all hands, to be, as ''his reputed mother P^ But the 



OP NAPOLEON III. 401 

objection is false : she has solemnly declared him to be her 
Bon under oath. 

15. That boxes of clothing and medals of Louis XVI., 
were left with the child. 

There is not a particle of proof of this ; as Mr. Williams 
does not possess a solitary relic of the sort ; unless he will 
assert, that his claim is strengthened and established by the 
fact, that he possesses a faded silk dress, once said to have 
been worn by Maria Antoinette, and given him several years 
since by a friend in New York. 

16. That an unknown Frenchman once visited and wept 
over Mr. Williams in his youth, and called him pauvre 
gargon. 

There is no proof of this except Mr. Williams' own faint 
recollection. Now Mr. Williams himself admits, that his 
mind, during his youth, till his fifteenth year, was a blank. 
Can we, therefore, place any confidence in any such vague 
impressions of his imbecile years ? 

It. That Mr. Williams' board and tuition were mysteri- 
ously paid for him at Dr. Ely's school, when his reputed 
father could not do it. 

This was the charity of some one ; hundreds of other chil- 
dren have received their education in the same way. If these 
funds came from the Bourbon family or their friends, why did 
they afterward desert him, and leave him unfriended during 
many years ? This they would not have done had they once 
aided him. 

18. Mr. Williams remembers a conversation that took 
place between his reputed father and Yanderhuyden, in which 
the fact of a French boy having been committed to the former 
in 1195 was asserted. 

This is hearsay testimony, and is, therefore, utterly incom- 
petent, according to every established principle of evidence. 
We have no means of ascertaining the credibility of the first 
witness, whose statements are thus brought into question in 
this second-hand way. That first witness referred to may 
34* 2 a 



402 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HISTORY 

have been mistaken, or dishonest. Mr, Williams himself may 
either have forgotten or misunderstood him. 

19. That Mr. Williams recognised the portraits of Simon, 
the cobbler, and Madame Elizabeth. 

But his recognition did not amount to anything more 
than a statement, that he thought that he had seen the ori- 
ginal before ; while at the same time, he was unable to recog- 
nise the portraits of Louis XVI. and his queen. Had he 
known the former, he certainly would also have recognised 
the latter. 

20. That Mr. Williams was idiotic at the age of fourteen 
or fifteen years as the result of his early sufferings. 

This is unfortunate, because there is no evidence that the 
real Dauphin had lost his mind at any period, however great 
his bodily sufferings might have been. On the contrary, the 
testimony of Lasne is to the effect, that he retained his intellect 
until his death.^ There have been many thousands of children 
idiotic till the age of fourteen or fifteen ; each one of whom 
would have an equal claim, on that score, with Mr. Williams 
to the throne of Napoleon III. 

21. That the Dauphin was reduced to the same condition 
of idiocy at the age of ten years. 

We refer the reader again to the testimony of Lasne as 
contained in the work of M. A. Beauchesne,^ as proof that 
no one about the person of the Prince ever supposed or 
asserted that he had become idiotic, at any period during his 
imprisonment. 

22. That Mr. Williams has, since the recovery of his rea- 
son, faint dreamy remembrances of the past, corresponding 
with passages of the Dauphin's history. 

1 The examining physicians testify in their Process Verbal after the 
post mortem examination, that the brain of the deceased Dauphin in 
the Temple was sound : " Le cerveau et ces dependences etaient dans leur 
plus parfaits inteffrite.^' This proves that the intellect of the Dauphin 
nev-er had been affected, as Mr. Williams represents his own to have 

been. 

2 Louis XVII., sa vie, son agonie, sa mart, etc., par M. A. Beauchesne, 

Tom. 11. , Paris. 




OF NAPOLEON III. 403 

In so important a case as this, we may demand some more 
substantial evidence than mere "dreamy remembrances." 
And besides, what are those dreamy remembrances ? Are 
they true or false ? If they corroborate history, they might 
be valuable as proof. If they did, they would doubtless have 
been already paraded before the world. The fact that they 
are not thus presented to public scrutiny, but kept concealed, 
is conclusive, that they do not harmonize with admitted facts. 

23. In 1*794 a decree of banishment against the Dauphin 
was proposed in the French Convention ; as if they appre- 
hended that the real Dauphin was not dead. 

This proposal was made previous to the reputed death of 
the Dauphin ; which event occurred in the Temple (accord- 
ing to our position) on the 8th of June, 1*795 ; and therefore 
this proposition presents no difficulty. Had it been made 
after his reputed death, it would then have had great signifi- 
cance. It was on this occasion that Cambaceres, afterward 
second Consul with Bonaparte, declared that, ''in banishing 
the son of Capet there would be great danger to the Republic ; 
in his close and continued confinement, none." The Con- 
vention, after referring the proposition to a committee, de- 
creed, that the Dauphin should not be banished, but should 
remain in his confinement, which continued until his death. 
The very fact that this proposition was discussed in the 
National Convention, is proof that no doubts were entertained 
at so short a period before the real Dauphin's death, as to 
whether the government still had the real son of Louis XVI. 
in their custody. 

24. That the ecclesiastical dignitaries of France have 
written to Mr. Williams, making inquiries of him respecting 
his history. 

If they believed him to be the real Dauphin, they would 
have been familiar with his history ; and if there were any- 
thing in their letters corroborative of his pretensions, it would 
have been carefully proclaimed. The contents of these letters 
are kept as silent as the grave, and have been cautiously 
concealed. 



404 HISTORY OF NAPOLEON III. 

25. That Lieneourt was at Oneida, in New York, in 1Y95, 
under suspicious circumstances, which indicated that he had 
something to do with the escape of the Dauphin. 

The advocate of Mr. Williams has asserted, and truly, 
that the only person who could possibly have brought the 
Prince to America was Bellanger. Now, either Bellanger 
brought the Prince to this country, or he did not. If he did^ 
then M. Liencourt could have had nothing to do with it. 
If he did not, then Mr. Williams' advocate contradicts him- 
self and overturns his own position ; for he declares, that 
Bellanger alone could have brought the Dauphin to this 
country. The learned advocate of Mr. Williams may take 
either horn of the dilemma. 

26. That Mr. Williams has been, for twenty-seven years, 
a respectable clergyman, of great worth and integrity. 

This is granted ; but it is admitted that Mr. Williams is a 
person of great simplicity of mind, who is very easily imposed 
upon ; and whose intellect still bears some traces of his early 
imbecility. Such persons become the easy victims of their 
own and of other's delusions. There are some twenty thou- 
sand respectable clergymen in the United States, each one 
of whom would have a claim as strong as Mr. Williams on 
that ground, to the inheritance of the Bourbons. That is 
to say, they possess no claim whatever. 

We have thus carefully followed the argument of the advo- 
cate of Mr. Williams through all its intricate mazes ; and we 
arrive at the conclusion that the historical fact still remains 
unshaken, that the son of the unfortunate Louis XVL, the 
Dauphin of France, expired in the Temple in I'? 95, an inno- 
cent victim to the diabolical frenzy and fanaticism of the 
Revolutionists ; and that Mr. Williams does not possess the 
slightest claim, under any possible future contingency, to the 
throne and empire of Napoleon III. 



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